Stay Close to Me
by tbrown92
Summary: *Sequel to The Difficulty of Growing Up* Carl, Blake, and Hoodsey are just about to graduate from Lucky High. Lots of changes are just around the corner. Will they end up changing as well? {Chapter 12 is now up!}
1. One Last Prank

"Alright, big guy… Stop lazing around the bookshelf and sit already…" Carl talked to himself as he kept his eyes glued to the new computer he got this past birthday. He was watching some live footage from the Assistant principal's office. Carl got a micro-cam and placed it on one of the paintings in his office earlier that week and this afternoon when Assistant Principal Grundig went out for lunch, he set up the most epic prank known to man and all he had to do was sit down at his desk. Carl definitely raced home after the bell rang. "Come on… I'm beggin' ya… Sit… Sit…" Carl willed, he could taste the sweet, sweet taste of a well done prank right… on the tip… of his tongue.

"Carl…" Hoodsey's voice called out after his bedroom door opened, he was panting from running up the staircase. "Carl… Why… did you hurry all the way here? You kind of forgot me and Blake at school you know…" He asked as he steadied himself on the door that was now closed.

"ShShSh… We are about to witness the best thing ever to happen since we stuffed a toad in Jade Weis's desk!" Carl said, clearly excited.

"That was in Elementary School, Carl." Hoodsey said before examining the video on Carl's computer screen. "…Is that Grundig's office?"

"Yup. In a few seconds.. everything is going to crash down on him… It's been too long, Hoodsey. It's been waaay… too long…"

"You are going to ruin our blank slate, in the middle of our senior year. Rethink this, I beg of you." Hoodsey said hurriedly. "What if you can't walk in graduation? Is it going to be worth trashing the good rep we worked hard for?"

"GAAAAAHHH!" The speakers blared out and on the screen was a bright, neon yellow covered Grundig. The secretary hurried into the office but it didn't take long for her to be on the floor laughing while Grundig was cursing up a storm, throwing paint everywhere in order to get it out of his eyes.

"SCOOOORE!" Carl exclaimed with a cackle that hasn't come from his mouth since he was eleven. That rush is what he lived for.

"Whoa…" Hoodsey muttered with wide eyes at the screen.

"What'd I tell ya? This is the best yet! Isn't it beautiful, Hoods? Carl Foutley is back! And better than ever!" Carl said happily as he gripped the thick edge of his screen. "The best thing about this… I have it recorded."

"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do." Hoodsey said, but he grinned a little at the thought. Carl didn't say anything but he clicked the stop button and the live feed ended. The file popped up in his videos folder a second later.

Carl got on his unofficial email and sent the footage to everyone on his contacts list (with the exception of school teachers and his immediate family members, of course). "Mission Complete. Now all we have to do is wait… We are going to become legends once again."

"I really don't know what to say, Carl…"

"Pardon my sudden burst of voice but, HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY MAD?" Blake's voice rang out through the phone that Lois had handed him seconds ago. It was early evening and dinner had just been finished.

"You got my email?" Carl asked calmly as though Blake had only greeted him.

"Got your EMAIL? Not only had I gotten your email but it could be possible that you might not graduate when/if Grundig finds out who put this stunt together. Had that even occurred to you?"

"Not in the least." Carl said confidently. Lois raised an eyebrow at Carl, who had responded to it with a single wink in her direction. "How did you like my masterpiece?" Blake was silent. He pictured Blake flushed with pursed lips making his appearance seem like he had taken up the identity of a puffer fish. Carl found amusement in this. "You're speechless. I must be doing my job right."

"We will talk about this further in about ten minutes when I arrive." Blake said in a tone that a parent would take on a naughty child.

"Looking forward to it since I am sure that you are curious about the planning of this brilliant plan."

"Brilliant is hardly a word that describes what you did." Blake scoffed before hanging the phone up on Carl. He just chuckled and hung the phone up on the receiver. Sure enough, Blake was in his bedroom within minutes from the phone call.

"Okay, So why?" Blake asked as he sat in the middle of Carl's bed.

"Why, what?" Carl asked innocently as he smirked. "I should ask why you chose to make yourself at home.. on my bed."

"Stop avoiding my questions, Carl." Blake said as he backed himself up to the head of his bed so Carl could sit with him. "Why did you do… what you did..?"

"Prank Grundig?" Carl asked as he sat and laid his back on the mattress with his hands behind his head. He snorted and shrugged, "I just felt the need to… and he is annoying. He had it coming to him, seriously."

"You felt the need to.. You haven't done any pranks since… what? Middle school?" Blake asked.

"Yes, but that was barely a good prank. This is gold." Carl said happily and he took in the reaction. Blake crossed his arms in front of him.

"I think you are regressing… I thought all this pranking and childish stuff was well behind you."

"So… What? Are you suggesting that I could have a case of peter-pan syndrome or something like that?"

"Actually, yeah. You read my mind."

"Don't I always?"

"Hardly."

Carl smirked at Blake once again and sat up slowly and turned towards him with his legs crossed, "So, what do you suggest I should do?"

"I believe that if you turn yourself in tomorrow morning… You will get a lesser consequence and then maybe you will be able to still keep your spot at graduation… Which is in three months' time, may I add."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Well then, you should anyway."

"Because my handsome boyfriend told me to?" Carl questioned as he leaned closer to Blake with that devilish smirk. Blake blushed lightly but just put a finger on Carl's forehead and pushed him back to his original place with a frown.

"Because it's the right thing to do." He responded with the strictest of tones. Carl turned his smirk into a slight frown at Blake's unshakable stance on the subject. "And you know it."

"The only thing I know is that I haven't felt this good in years. Why would I ruin the high?" Carl questioned. Ideas were flowing through his mind like a rapid river.

"Well from my personal experience, I can confirm that after the high comes the consequence and it's always better to get the crash over with so you can feel normal once more." Blake said with confidence.

Carl leaned backwards into his hands and he stared at the wall behind Blake. He thought about how he felt like a chunk of himself was missing throughout middle school and the life of a normal teenager never agreed with him. He was bored. ALL the time. He was never bored back in the good old days. There was always a scheme being planned or a prank unfolding. He missed that more than ever. "…Normal is way overrated." Carl muttered.

Blake stared for a second before huffing at the red head in front of him. "You are incredibly stubborn."

"Nicely observed, Blakey boy." Carl said with that smirk returning in full force. "Though it doesn't really come as a shock to anyone."

"Well, I'll let you enjoy the atmosphere of mischief a little while longer, Carl… However…" Blake said as he got up from the bed and he smoothed out any wrinkles in his black blazer with his hand. "By morning's first light, I expect you will come to your senses."

Carl swiftly shot up and stood in front of the door, blocking Blake's exit. He placed a hand on Blake's cheek and placed an innocent kiss on his lips. "Keep dreaming." He stated with a smile. Blake just rolled his eyes and made his way out of Carl's bedroom without another word.

Sure enough that morning, the halls were buzzing about the video Carl had sent. He couldn't have been more proud even though no one knew he was the one who orchestrated the entire plot. While at his locker, Blake silently stepped up to him just as he was about to go to first period. "How goes it, Blakey-boy?"

"Pretty fair, though I don't see you rushing to the office to confess anytime soon."

"Why would I do that?" Carl asked innocently. "It would ruin the mystery."

"You could get into quite a nasty bit of trouble if you allow this to fester." Blake scolded as they walked side by side down the hall. "I still can't believe you would dirty up your record like this while we are on the brink of graduation…"

"I got to give time to make the assistant head honcho squirm in anger. I just saw him walk into the building not too long ago and his hair has a very vibrant tint to it." Carl said as he laughed a little under his breath.

"I see no good coming from this little scheme." Blake said with a sigh as he stopped at the turn of the hallway where his class was being held. "Try to do the honorable thing and confess as soon as you possibly can allow yourself."

"Will do, but I don't think that will be any time soon." Carl said with a smile before Blake turned down the hall. Carl planned this for months, he couldn't just let his fun be stifled just yet.

When he sat in his assigned seat, the late bell had just rang and the usual school announcements went on as normal only at the end of the normal broadcasts Mr. Grundig took the mic to make the very speech he had been waiting for.

"As most of you know, there was a video emailed to you all last night… As I strolled through the halls this morning, I could see humor in all your faces. I will make this clear to all of you, what had happened was not funny or even slightly humorous." At this point, a very faint snicker could be heard from the background for half a second. "…I will allow a 24 hour period of time for the culprit to confess. They will be given a minimal punishment. If no one comes forward in that time frame, I will hold an investigation where I will successfully weed out the perp and a much heavier consequence will take place… That is all."

Carl was grinning to himself as his classmates around him started to whisper to each other. He just simply shrugged at any one who asked him about it. "All right, All right. Time to settle down." Mrs. Bryant said to the class. Carl was calm on the outside but on the inside he was triumphantly basking in the glory he had earned.

During lunch period, Carl silently listened to all the rumors going around about who the offender was and Hoodsey was silently reading a book for his next class while he ate. Blake was shooting Carl with concerned expressions. He just answered them with a smirk.

"Please tell me you are going to comply with Grundig's demands." Blake finally said to Carl after a few minutes passed.

"I don't know if I want to yet." Carl said as he stared the younger teenager in front of him.

"Do you honestly think that you could get away with doing this deed?"

"The possibility is looking pretty high right now." Carl laughed.

"Is it?" Blake asked in a near-smug tone. "Are you certain about that? You see, I talked it over with Hoodsey here and we decided it would be… beneficial if we were to turn you in."

Carl stared at his friends in front of him and they were looking pretty serious about the threat, "You're kidding, right? Trying to pull my leg? …Hoods?" Hoodsey just cast him an apologetic expression.

"Ah, I surely wish we could jest about something this serious, Carl." Blake sighed as he examined his lightly manicured fingernails. "We assure you that it _is_ for the best. You still have the chance to claim fault in this plot, of course, but if you fail to cooperate… Then I'm afraid you have left us no choice in the matter."

"W-We just don't want you getting expelled this close to finishing school. Colleges don't go for that type of thing." Hoodsey added with reason. "Any college you got accepted into will deny you when they get a hold of your updated record."

As Carl listened to them, he felt himself grow angry and clearly his face was telling it all. Just then, the announcement bell dinged through the cafeteria and everyone fell silent to listen. It wasn't everyday that an announcement was made in the middle of lunch period. "Students, I am fairly pleased to announce that the 'prankster' has come forward this morning and has been served their consequence. I would like to thank you all for your cooperation, and have a good day." Grundig's voice echoed through the room. Everyone started to talk about their theories about who did the prank.

"What?" Carl asked in slight shock.

"Oh ho… Seems as though you were right." Blake said happily. "You did get away with it. How lucky you are."

"No way… Someone took the blame for your prank, Carl." Hoodsey said with wide eyes.

"How could this be…?" Carl asked himself. Blake seemed confused at his sudden change of attitude. "Someone is trying to take credit for what I did."

"Once everyone finds out who took the blame, they will be the legend…" Hoodsey stated as he too seemed troubled by this twist of events.

"No.. I can't let this happen." Carl declared as he stood up to leave. "Looks like you are going to get your way, Blakey-boy." Carl left his tray on the table and walked away from his friends and out the cafeteria doors in a slight rush earning questioning glances from other students around him.


	2. Punishment

"Carl! Hold on!" Carl heard Hoodsey say to him as he tried to catch up with him in the hallway as he was heading for the office.

"Honestly—Carl! Wait one minute!" Blake added as he too was chasing after him. Once they caught up, they were both out of breath. "This should be a good thing! You don't need to own up to it or suffer through a month's worth of detention."

"I'm not going to let some wannabe take my glory." Carl said in a rough manner as he stopped in front of the double doors of the office. "This was my plan. No one has the right to claim it… So, if you would excuse me… I have some major fessing up to do." Carl took a breath before pushing through those doors. He went up to the receptionist and gave her his best smile. "Pardon me, Ms. J, but I have some things I would like to talk to Mr. Grundig about as soon as possible."

She glanced up at him with an unimpressed expression. "Have a seat, Foutley." She said in a bored tone.

"Thank you, Ma'am… And may I add that you are looking very well put together today." She rolled her eyes at him and he went and took a seat near Assistant Principal Grundig's door. Carl waited for about five minutes before the receptionist told him he could go in. Carl smirked at her before he let himself into the office.

"Carl Foutley." Mr. Grundig said with a frown that he wore so very often. "What reason do we need to have this urgent meeting?"

Carl smiled at him and took a seat in front of the desk, "Well you see, Mr. Grundig, sir… I have something I would like to tell you… You look very official today, sir.. Did you do something different with your hair, by any chance?"

"Get to the point, Foutley. I don't have all day." Grundig said with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright. I just have to say that you have the wrong person." Carl said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "The person who set up that prank on you was me."

"Oh yeah? How is that?"

"How? I just did, sir."

"What proof do you have that you are the one who pulled this prank off?" Mr. Grundig asked with interest.

"Well. That email was my backup account... And uh…" Carl looked around the room and spotted his little camera still on the painting. He got up and took it off and presented it to him. "This is mine. I planted it here when I was rearranging your books for you last week." Grundig took the tiny camera from Carl's palm and examined it closely. "Has my initials on it, so I'm not lying. I know my bug right down to the wiring."

"So it is." He said as he put the bug on his desk and he cast a knowing smirk right at him. "I was wondering if you would confess. Seeing your past records, this little plan seemed to be a product of your handy work."

Carl was stunned as he sank into the chair, "You knew it was me? But… But the other person that confessed…"

"Never existed." Grundig stated calmly. It was a trap. Carl's shocked expression slowly turned into a dark glare directed at the man behind the desk. "I didn't know it was you at first, but after I reviewed your past it seemed very, _very_ clear. I just needed a way to get you to admit it and here you are…"

"Excuse me, sir… but that was really low."

"No. That was cunning. A trait that we both share apparently." He said with a gleam in his eye. "Now, since you came out and admitted to it before the twenty-four hours I promised, you will have two months full of Saturday detentions and you will spend each Friday afternoon of those two months helping patch up the football field before a game. Oh, and your off the track team for the rest of the year."

"…Two months…?" Carl asked in slight shock as Grundig wrote up the detention order. The track team thing was something he was trying to get out of for quite some time now so, it didn't faze him much.

"You got it."

"There's only three months left in school. Isn't that a little too much?"

"In the real world, there is never such thing as too much, Foutley." He stated as he set his pen down on his desk. "You do the crime, you do the time." He slid the detention slip to Carl. Carl took it without another word, took his bug and walked out of the office to see Blake and Hoodsey still waiting for him. There was still ten minutes left in lunch period when he looked at his watch.

"What happened?" Hoodsey asked him as they walked down the hall. Carl sighed and showed him the slip. "Two months…?!"

"Yep." Carl sighed as they stopped at his locker. Blake looked over Hoodsey's shoulder at the slip.

"That's a whole lot better than expulsion… but that does seem a bit harsher than his normal punishment…"

Carl got out his books that he needed for his next set of classes, "…Yep..." he repeated.

"Well… at least no one is going to take credit for your prank, right?" Hoodsey asked.

"There was never anyone else. It was a trap to draw me out and I fell for it." Carl admitted in his seething anger. He slammed his locker shut as though it would solve his irritation.

"For real?!" Hoodsey asked in shock.

"Who knew Grundig had tricks up his polyester sleeve…" Blake said in slight amazement. "This does put quite a strain on our plans though. We still have yet to secure a reasonable apartment near our college campus and I would like to get everything set up before we graduate."

"Don't worry about it, Blake." Carl said to him as the bell rang for classes to begin. "We'll get it done by then." They started to head towards class together.

"I'll see you guys at the end of the day" Hoodsey said quickly as he went the opposite direction. They both waved to him and continued down the hall.

When Carl and Blake sat down at their desks, Blake pulled out a catalog of furnishings and handed it over to him. "What's this?" He asked.

"I would like to know what styles I should order. I tagged a few but since this isn't just for me I would like to know your opinions. You can also select some things that we have yet to cover. We need to do this now because once the order has been made, it takes two months to ship." He explained before the teacher walked in as the late bell rang.

Blake has been all over the planning of the moving process since they decided the school they both wanted to go to. They selected New York University for obvious reasons. For Carl, it was the optimum-grade business classes they offered and for Blake it was their fine arts program. So, they made the decision to move in together. This was a huge step in their long-term, now five year relationship so he was handling himself with extreme care. Blake on the other hand has been excitedly preparing it all so it will be finished in mid-summer and they can move in and enjoy themselves in the city before the term begins. He has been really detailed about it all. Last month, they took a trip up there to meet with a family friend who did real estate. They saw a few really good penthouse style apartments but were now taking the time to decide on which one they really wanted to buy but they were leaning towards the biggest one available. That one really blew Carl's mind. He was very reluctant to decide on either of them since the prices were so through the roof but Blake assured him over and over numerous times that money wasn't an issue at all since the Griplings were basically urging him to find a place that was up to their standards. Very over the top for the sake of their country club reputation. They did the same thing with Courtney when she was moving to France after high school. They ended up buying her a half-mansion near the designing school she was attending, it was also very close to all the high-end fashion designers she had befriended over the years. They let Blake do this on his own however. Never looking at places with him or peaking at his Italian furnishing catalogs to see what he was planning. He had all the freedom to do what he wanted. Suppose that was their way of preparing him for the real world. They only knew things he would talk to them over their dinner table. It's not like they listened anyway. They never really do. Carl's parents have been very apprehensive about the fact Carl was moving out on his own into a city so big. They knew Blake would be rooming with him and that made them worried for him as well considering he was younger and more of a target than Carl ever could be. He has been dealing with talking about possible situations about muggers and people with guns at their disposal for about a month straight now. He knew they mean well but this talking about crime rates and everything of that nature has just been causing stress that wasn't really needed. He did talk to them about lightening up on the negative talk the other night and they agreed that they were acting a little high strung but only because they wanted him to understand the things that could happen in the big city since they both lived there back in their day, he understood that it was natural for his parents to be concerned about his wellbeing. Ginger has been really happy for him though. Her phone calls were always a relief to Carl. She talked often about the class trip she went on years ago in her junior high days and the trip she went on with their mom. She loved New York. She was very surprised when Carl decided to go to NYU but she warmed up to the idea with each weekly phone call. She was even talking about sending him a special house warming gift a couple times.

At the end of the day, Carl met up with Blake and Hoodsey by his car and they left the school campus to hit up the library like they did every other weekday to get homework done. He handed Blake the catalog back to him since he did in fact choose a number of different furnishings. Blake looked at his choices as they drove down the road. "Ah, of course you would choose the darker woods from the lighter. I should have guessed it." He said as he flipped through the pages of the thick book. "It looks like we have some things to discuss."

"You should know my tastes by now." Carl said with a small laugh as they stopped at a stop sign and turned onto the road where the library was located.

"That china cabinet looks very nice." Hoodsey noted as he looked over Blake's shoulder from the back seat.

"Sharp eye, my friend." Blake said happily. "…Yes, very nice indeed." Blake went and circled the item number.

When the car was parked, they all made their way into the large building and took their usual table by the back window where librarians only come back there once in a blue moon so they could talk quietly amongst themselves without being shushed much. They all took out their text books and started to study for their final exams, which were starting in two months.

"I suspect that after your first Saturday detention, everyone will know who pulled that prank. You will be talked about for the rest of the year." Blake mentioned as he kept his eyes glued to the Calculus text book in front of him.

"That's the point, Blakey-boy." Carl said with a proud smirk.

"I figured as much." He said with light amusement. "Would make quite a story to tell the dean of NYU when you go in for your post acceptance interview, no doubt Grundig will mention that to them after graduation."

"I will only tell if they ask."

"I just hope you don't do anything like that in college, Carl." Hoodsey said to him. "I'm sure you would arrested or something if you did. They don't forgive very easily."

"No worries. This was pretty much my last prank on a school employee." Carl assured. "No more trouble for this guy."

"We've been down this road before." Hoodsey said with a grin as he ran through some practice equations.

"Honest. This time from now on I'm totally a follow-the-rules, no-funny-business type of guy."

"If you say so." Hoodsey said with a sigh.

"Say, Hoods. You never told us which college you're choosing." Carl inquired, attempting to change the subject.

"I was thinking about Berkley." He answered after a second of thought. Carl and Blake both looked up and exchanged expressions before giving him knowing looks. "What? It's a great school."

"Isn't that awfully close to where the exceptional Macie Lightfoot is attending college and grad school, by any chance?" Blake asked him.

"Yes, well… we've been emailing each other for weeks now… but I'm not going just to hunt her down!… The school has this very interesting class, okay? It fits in with my chosen major."

"Whatever you say, Hoodsey." Carl said with that knowing grin before he also turned back to his material, making a quick study guide of all the important stuff that was likely to show up on the finals.

When they spent an hour studying at the library, Carl dropped off Hoodsey at his house and went to the Gripling house to discuss the furniture choices. They headed up to his room after leaving their jackets in the coat closet and Blake grabbed his binder to brief Carl on the planning so far.

"I was thinking that the bedroom could be a little darker as far as the furniture is concerned." Blake started as he sat on the couch with Carl at his side. "I did originally plan it like that anyhow. I am still unsure about the wall and carpet color though."

"Oh really?" Carl asked with a smirk. "How big is the bed?"

"King." Blake answered. "I know how you like to take up as much room as you possibly can. So, a queen just simply won't do."

"Most of the time I mind my manners." Carl said with an eye roll. "I already apologized for accidentally kicking you out of the bed that one time last year. No need to hold that against me. I think I learned my lesson when you pumbled me with pillows in the middle of the night."

"Better safe than sorry." He said with a smirk of his own. "The living room will be a brighter set up with a little contrast with dark wood nightstands and entertainment center. The kitchen will be a little heavier in the contrast because you like the darker cabinets and granite countertops. The walls will be a very light gray and the floors will be a matching gray and white marble. We still need to go out and pick dishes and appliances. I have set that for next month, obviously on a Sunday since your Saturdays are now filled."

"Does it usually take all day to pick out those things?" Carl asked as he peaked at the time slot he mentioned.

"There is a lot to see and consider before we make the final decision. So, yes. You would be surprised how much time all this takes."

"I already am." Carl stated with light amusement. "Say, are your parents going suggest we get cooks and maids? Because I can cook pretty well and cleaning isn't a problem for me either."

"They already suggested it about twice but I assured them that it wasn't at all necessary. I'm not as spoiled as Courtney is. So they set up a service for laundry and grocery deliverance instead."

"I see.. Can't even do our own grocery shopping…"

"No need to be a pessimist, Carl. You will be far too busy for that when the term starts up. I'm sure you will appreciate it when we don't have an empty refrigerator after a long day of back to back classes."

"I suppose." He said with a sigh. "When should the move be completed?"

"At this time, I should say we will be safe to move in sometime around mid-July. So, be packed up and ready to go by then. Are you absolutely certain that you don't require a moving van?"

"I already said that all my clothes should fit into my car. It's not like I have a lot. You already have all my nick knacks in storage." Carl said with a laugh. "How about you take a moment and calm down from all this planning…" He stole the open binder from Blake and scooted a little closer to him, closing off any space that had resided between them. "I would like to spend some time not talking about all this tedious work." He ran a couple fingers through Blake's hair and placed a kiss on his cheek and trailed numerous kisses along his jaw and neck.

"Carl…" Blake said in a weak tone. "I still haven't gone through everything with you. The dining room… a-and the office and guest bedroom… Can't this wait a little bit longer?"

"Not really..." Carl grumbled in a low tone before continuing. Blake shifted lightly before moving Carl's focus off his neck. He grazed Carl's face lightly with his hand before capturing his lips with his own. Carl wrapped his arm around Blake's waist and forced him to tip over on the sofa, placing Carl above him. Carl fiddled with the hem of Blake's collared shirt before slowly slipping his hand under it, coming in contact with Blake's warm, smooth skin. Carl slowly broke the kiss and looked into Blake's bright blue, slightly glazed over eyes for a second before he grazed his lips over his cheek making a path down to the bottom of his neck where he gently attacked it with his lips and massaged over the slim muscle with his tongue. Blake hummed lightly before running his hand through Carl's auburn hair, encouraging him to continue. Carl's other hand snaked up Blake's clothed chest and slowly unbuttoned one or two buttons at the top of the shirt and allowed himself to continue down to Blake's collarbone which he gently nipped his pale skin. Blake had a hard time trying to stifle a low moan that begged to be released. Carl just grinned at that fact and he continued to try to make Blake lose control over his sweet sounds. He gently caressed Blake's bare side which he held previously. The blonde shuttered at the light touch and by the sound of it, he also lost track of his breathing as he was lightly panting under Carl's attentive touch.

"W-we really shouldn't, Carl." Blake stammered breathlessly as he shifted uncomfortably under Carl, bringing his attention back up to Blake's dazed expression. "W-what if someone comes to the door… This is… this is highly against my comfort zone." Carl retracted his hand out from under Blake's top before sighing deeply.

"I should have known I wouldn't have gotten too far here." Carl said jokingly as he picked himself up off his young lover.

Blake also sat up and ran his hand through his lightly tussled hair. "All the more reason to hurry to get into our own place as soon as we possibly can." He answered as he buttoned up his shirt and smoothed it out the best he could from Carl's pleasant assault.

"Should we continue this at my place or am I going to have to wait?" Carl asked with a smirk.

Blake flushed a bright pink as he thought about it for a second, "I ask your forgiveness, Carl…"

"No worries." Carl said with a slight chuckle. "I'll be looking forward to the next opportunity." Blake cast him an amused look before he relocated the big binder onto the coffee table since it fell off the couch. Carl glanced at his wrist watch and sighed lightly at it. "I suppose I should head home. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Blakey-boy."

"Pick up as usual." He said with a small wave before Carl exited the room. Carl didn't think about this until now but he had to go explain his detentions to his parents before Grundig decided to do it for him.

"Two months, Carl?!" Lois asked in disbelief after she read the detention slip. Carl sank deep into the armchair he was in. "What did you do to the poor guy?!"

"Pranked him with a little bit of yellow paint…?" He explained, purposely leaving out massive details.

"I honestly thought you were over this whole pranking nonsense." Dave said to him. Carl shrugged in response.

"No dessert for a month and you are grounded." Lois said out of slight rage.

Carl gaped at her, "But I have things to do in regards to the apartment, I can't get out of the appointments!" Carl said hurriedly.

"You should have thought about that before you pulled this prank."

"Now, dear… Don't you think he is going to suffer enough having to spend his Saturdays at school for two months?" Dave asked Lois. Carl sweated a little bit under Lois's dark glare but he was thankful that Dave decided to stick up for him. "Should he really lose out on an apartment just because he made a little mistake? …or a sudden slip of judgement, rather?"

She wavered her glare from him to Dave a few times before sighing out of heavy frustration and she threw her hands up to go with it, "Fine! Grounded for a week! No phone and no visitors. Starting now! Go to your room, Carl!" She yelled as she pointed to the staircase behind her. Carl didn't argue with her, he ran up the stairs at lightning speed and closed himself inside his room. He sat on his bed and rubbed his forehead with a shake of his head as he heard the faint and infrequent yells from his mother on the first floor. This was probably going to be the longest week ever.


	3. The Cat's Out Of The Bag

That Saturday, Carl reluctantly drove himself to school at seven in the morning. He looked at the school from the parking lot and shot a quick glare at it before slowly getting out and waltzing up the stairs to see Grundig in the hallway waiting for all the detention servers to show up.

"Cutting it close, Foutley." He grumbled as he checked the time on his watch.

Carl stopped and looked at him with a smile, "Just making sure you're paying attention, sir… Third room on the left, correct?"

"That's right. On you go. Not a moment to waste."

Carl strolled into the classroom and sat down in the back where there was a free desk waiting for him. He glanced at the others in the room and rested his head in his hand as he looked around the room. This was his science room last year, nothing changed at all. After two more students came in, Grundig walked in and frowned at them all for a second. "Good morning. I truly hate seeing so many new faces in this room. Hopefully, you all learn from what you did so that I won't have to see you again. You will stay in this room, QUIETLY, for six hours today and think about your behaviors. I don't want to come in here and see you talking or out of your seats. No cell phones, No music, No handheld games. Just listen to the sound of your own guilt rushing though the core of your very souls… I will be out in the hallway so I don't want to hear any funny business going on in here."

After that heartwarming speech, he left the room with a folder under his arm. Carl yawned as he stretched his back. He stared up at the ceiling while tipping his chair back, carefully balancing it on its two back legs. Minutes passed before he was bothered by an underclassmen beside him. "What are you doing here, Foutley?"

He glanced at the guy next to him and returned his chair to its original place. The only reason the students would know him was from his reputation as the fastest runner on the track team or they had a class with him. He remembered this guy, however.

"Devin, right?" Carl asked him as he vaguely remembered his face. He had run into the poor boy last year when he was rushing around in a panic trying to find his classroom as students rushed past him, he was clearly a new student. Carl helped pick up the textbooks he dropped and showed which hall he should be in. He nodded slightly. "Well, Devin. That is a story that is much too long to tell, so I'll put it simply… You know that video that went viral this past week?" He nodded once more and Carl had the attention of everyone in the room. "That was my prank, hence the reason I'm spending the day with you fine people. I will be in here for the next seven weeks." Everyone looked at him in awe for a couple seconds and he just soaked up their expressions before he was bombarded by many questions all at once. "Woah. Hey. I can't understand any of you. One at a time." He ordered. They fell silent as they spotted Grundig looking in the classroom window. When he disappeared once more, they all huddled around Carl's desk.

"How did you video tape it?" A girl with a black dress asked.

"That's easy. I have these wireless bugs that have video capture abilities so I just put one on that painting he has facing his desk and recorded the whole thing." Carl explained smoothly.

"How did you rig the ceiling tile to his office chair?" Devin asked in a hushed tone. "That was pretty boss."

"Very fine fishing line. It's almost invisible to the human eye. Grundig doesn't pay close enough attention to notice those things, so it was pretty classic."

"How long did it take to set up?" A random guy asked.

"A few months of planning and a couple weeks putting it together. I had to do a few favors for the janitors to get them to allow me in Grundig's office after school hours and some sucking up to the big guy." Carl grinned. Everyone started to pat him on the back telling him how awesome the prank was. Carl couldn't help but feel a little bit embarrassed by the sudden attention but he quickly brushed it off and bowed at everyone, "Thank you very much."

"I sent the video to my older sister in Michigan. She hated Grundig when she went here so, she got a good laugh from it." The girl in the black dress said as they all returned to their seats in case Grundig came back into the room. Carl was interested in how far the video must have traveled by now if it was introduced to past students in other states.

"He really had it coming to him." A guy from the front of the class said with a laugh. The rest of the students mumbled in agreement. "I'm glad someone stuck it to him. I definitely don't have the guts to do what you did, bro."

"Not many do." Carl responded. He took pride in those reactions from his peers as they talked about it until it was time to be dismissed for the day. Grundig had no idea about what was discussed in the classroom but he sneered at everyone when they passed him with laughter evident on their faces. Carl was the last to leave, he just jokingly saluted the assistant principal in passing before leaving the building.

"It seems that word is out in the open, Carl." Blake said knowingly as he welcomed him into his room. Carl went to the Gripling household straight from detention, since he didn't exactly tell his mother when he was coming home so he took advantage of the time outside of the house. "This email is spreading like a wild fire and I must say, these responses are flowing in like a storm, I get a new email every fifteen seconds it seems like." He showed him his laptop when Carl sat down on the sofa.

He read it and smirked. "Wow. Less than an hour since we were released." He said lazily as he made himself comfortable.

"It's safe to say that word does travel fast in the realm of high school, especially with modern day technology." Blake stated with slight enjoyment. "I take it that you didn't suffer much at all today."

"No suffering what so ever."

"I see. We shall see how school is for you come Monday morning. Surely, it will be full of that attention which you hate so much." Blake predicted as he peered into Carl's eyes carefully as though he was trying to make him squirm.

Carl just stared right back with a smile, "I think I have grown out of that, Blakey-boy. I wanted people to know who the best is, and clearly, I now hold that title… I believe I got under Grundig's skin a little today."

"Oh?" Blake chortled. "I can see how you would achieve that. He is an incredibly easy target."

"This is going to be a very interesting few months." Carl said happily. "So about the move, if I'm not mistaken, you still have some things to talk about." Blake smiled at him and took the binder in his hands.

* * *

After lunch on Saturday, Hoodsey sat down at his desk as he eagerly logged into his email. He's been expecting a response from Macie since Thursday. He knew her schedule very well by now and this was usually the time frame today she could check her email before her meeting with the mathematics club. He scanned through his inbox for her name but he found an email from a classmate he didn't usually talk to, so he opened it out of curiosity. He found out it was a forwarded message sent to most of the school body with many replies attached to it, there must have been about fifty replies in all.

 _Word on the street is that the yellow finger prankster is Carl Foutley! How cool is that?_

 _\- D_

 _I can see that. He was always pulling pranks in Elementary school. If you ask anyone from his class, they would have guessed it without much thought._

 _\- Brandon H._

 _I guess we all know how school will be on Monday!_

 _\- Nessa_

Hoodsey just smiled and shook his head as he went back to his inbox and at the top was an email from Macie. He hurried to open it and it was a pretty long one this time compared to the one paragraph emails he usually gets from her.

 _Berkley isn't that far from me, are you sure you would like to be that far away from everyone? It's pretty scary being on your own so I could show you some things in good old California. I wouldn't want you to go about being in a new state alone. I remember I almost had a panic attack when I stepped out of the car when I arrived here, very overwhelming._

 _That video you sent made me laugh, I won't lie. I even sent it to Ginger and Dodie… but Carl really shouldn't have done that. It can hurt him in the long run, you know. I'm pretty sure that NYU won't like that and if he does end up going there, they will have a close eye on him all that year, like hawks stalking their pray. They don't trust very well when a blemish like that is brought to their attention. All college deans and headmasters are like that. Knowing Carl though, he could make it work to his advantage. Suggesting how well of an engineer he is and they would probably recommend that he take mechanical engineering or something of that nature as a minor since he has already decided to major in business._

 _Over here, there was a large rally for the last game before finals. It was so out of control I could barely hear myself think, which is not good since I was trying to write up a rough draft of my thesis at the time in my dorm. The party lasted until early morning. It's interesting how crazy college students are. Always partying any chance they can get. I'm happy that I'm not part of that. It's a big mess when those parties happen. I suggest that when you get settled in at Berkley that you should stay away from the fraternities. They have a huge rep for holding crazy weekend bashes and the initiations are really embarrassing. Just keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble, you'll be better off that way._

 _\- Macie_

He found her concern for him very heartwarming and it made him happy to know that she was thinking about him. He found that there was a file attached to the email. He opened it and it was a picture of her looking up from an open textbook and giving that small, delicate smile he remembered from years ago. He found himself staring at her eyes seeing she was happy made his stomach knot up in slight nervousness. Her hair had grown out down to her shoulders and it looked as soft as it usually did. She had a little strand hanging in front of her glasses, he longed to tuck it behind her ear. That smile made his heart skip a beat. He hasn't seen her since she came home for the holidays last year and that was only in passing. Even then he always felt these feelings when he saw her, even if it was just for a millisecond. He quickly printed the picture and stared at it for a long time before realizing he had a paper to write on the book he just finished for English class. He tucked it away inside his wallet and slowly got back to his unfinished paper on his desk.

* * *

Monday morning was indeed an interesting day full of mild praise and high-fives from random classmates. Hoodsey was also included in some of the compliments, much to his surprise but Carl was more than happy to share the limelight. Blake just wore a silent smirk the entire day having very little to say for once. Lunch period was the busiest, Carl could barely eat a bite of food without having someone come up to him. He just laughed at it as he ate.

"Still not sick of it?" Blake asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"No way. This is great." He responded. "I am convinced that this will be talked about for years to come and that's the type of mark I was looking to leave behind."

"You did a good job of doing that." Hoodsey said with an amused grin as he looked up momentarily from the book hes been staring at since they sat down. He wasn't turning any pages in it, he was just staring at that one page. Even with Carl's nearly blinding, new found celebrity status, he could clearly see through his best friend's weird behavior.

"Hey Hoods, what are staring at so intently? No book is that interesting." Carl asked as he tried to peek at it but Hoodsey quickly closed it. "No, let me see."

"Carl, come on!" He protested as Carl tried to grab the book. "Mind your manners."

Carl eventually succeeded and opened up to the page that was clearly folded in and a picture fell out of it and into his lap. Carl picked it up and glanced at it before it was snatched up by Hoodsey. It was too late, Carl saw that the picture was of Macie Lightfoot, the object of Hoodsey's never-ending affection. He smirked at him as he slowly pushed the book over the table and it stopped at Hoodsey's hand. "I think you're obsessing."

"Am not, Carl." He muttered from embarrassment. "It's just a really good picture of her… I'm just appreciating it." Blake was just watching the whole event play out in front of him.

Carl snorted with a roll of his eyes, "Appreciating… right. Reality check? You're practically drooling."

"Am not." He repeated as he carefully placed the picture back in the book and put it in his back pack. "She sent it to me this weekend, she wouldn't send me a picture of herself if she didn't want me to see it… Do you think she could still have some feelings for me?"

"It's highly possible." Blake responded. "You two had something like a five-star relationship until it met its rather abrupt end."

"Very possible. She could also just want to be back on good terms with you though. That break up did rattle you quite a bit and you just started talking to her again after all this time." Carl added. "She might feel bad that she left you like that, you really can't know for sure until you actually see her and spend some time alone with her."

Hoodsey sighed deeply but smiled a little, "She's so awesome… I can't help but hope that she does feel something… I sure do."

"She has you hooked, man." Carl said with a light wince at his best friend lovesick expression. "I'm rooting for you, but I would try to keep her at arm's length if I were you. At least until she gives you a very clear go ahead."

"It is a pretty awkward position you're in, Hoodsey. Just guard your heart as much as you can. She did do quite a number on you after your last discussion." Blake cautioned.

"I understand what you guys are saying but I just can't help it."

"She has cast her spell on you." Blake stated before he went to throw his trash away. Carl and Hoodsey did the same thing before they all left the area to go grab their things for their next classes.

That afternoon after school, Carl arrived home just in time for Ginger's phone call, apparently the only phone call he was allowed to take for the next three days.

"I am pretty sure you lost what was left of your mind, Carl." Ginger said with disapproving sigh after she explained that she watched the video. "That prank was really stupid of you."

"The whole school doesn't think so." Carl said with a light laugh. Lois shot him a glare from across the living room. He instantly lost his smile at the sight of her deep frown.

"So, are you grounded or what? I'm pretty sure mom wouldn't stand for what you did."

"Yep, I am… and with two months of Saturday detentions on top of it, I won't have much freedom for a while. Even after the groundment is finished, I am pretty sure that I will be kept on a short leash until I move."

Lois snorted under her breath, "You got that right." Carl turned his back to her and continued his conversation.

"Wow… Two months, huh? That would disrupt your back and forth trips to New York… How are you going to get the apartment taken care of?"

"Oh, Blake says he would take care of it. He's going over there tomorrow after school while I'm stuck in my room. We should be set since the tough part is already done with." Carl said as he absentmindedly played with the phone cord. "We have it planned out pretty well."

"Well, that's good to know. Email me your address as soon as you can, okay?"

"Will do, Sis."

"Okay, put mom on the phone. Enjoy your grounding."

"As much as I can, I assure you that it has been nothing but studying since it began." He said before he held the phone out in front of him towards his mother. She grabbed it and he disappeared back into his room which was littered with piles of notes in a very messy manner. He sat himself down in the middle of the mess and took his pen in his hand once more, staring down at his year worth of history notes. After he was nearly finished with the history study guide, he sighed and rubbed his eyes out of mental fatigue. All of a sudden, he could hear a very faint tapping but he couldn't find out where it was coming from. Carl looked around his room, curious. Maybe he was starting to hear things… He scratched his head as he waited for the sound to return as it's been going on for a minute straight. When he heard it again his head snapped to the general area that the sound was coming from. It was his window. Carl stepped over a couple piles of papers and looked out it to grab a glimpse of a head of light blonde hair from behind the tree in his backyard. Carl laughed to himself before he opened the large window.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a slightly hushed voice but loud enough to hear from down below. Blake stepped out from behind the tree and he cleared his throat.

"I have come to ease some of your boredom… May I?" He asked as he motioned to the small fire escape ladder Carl set up three years ago.

Carl smiled a little, "Alright… Just be quiet, I don't need my folks finding out."

Blake gripped the sturdy ladder and climbed up it with haste and slipped in through the open window, he grinned at himself as he swiped his jacket free from any dirt that may have clung on to him. "How handy." He said with a small laugh before he looked around the room. "My word… When you said you were studying, you weren't lying."

"Why would I lie about studying?" Carl asked with a raised eyebrow directed at his unexpected visitor.

"True enough." Blake said with a slight nod. "But I should mention that there are other, less cluttering ways of studying. I happen to have a fool-proof system. Should you be curious, I would be more than happy to teach you."

"I have my own ways." Carl said as he cleared off his desk chair so Blake could sit. "Organized chaos."

"Quite chaotic, indeed." He noted as he sat down and made himself comfortable. "Very like you."

"To what should I owe this surprise visit?" Carl asked before he leaned on the desk next to Blake.

"There's no reason, really." He shrugged lightly.

"Just miss me?" Carl asked playfully.

"Don't get too full of yourself no matter how large your ego has grown in the past few days."

"You miss me." Carl stated with a knowing smile, Blake's cheeks flushed at the statement but still resumed his normal composure. "I guess I should have expected this once Lola confiscated my old walkie talkie and computer, leaving me with no means of communication. Though, I didn't really think you would throw pebbles at my window like what happens in those old romance novels."

"Yes, well. Listen… As far as going to secure our apartment tomorrow, Winston has graciously accepted accompanying me so I thought I should put your worries to rest."

"…Is Winston really up for a long drive?" Carl asked him, slightly worried for the man's well-being.

"He insists. True, he hasn't been up to doing much these past couple of years but he really didn't feel comfortable with me going off on my own. He seems quite dismal over the fact that I'll soon be leaving the nest, so he felt it appropriate to go along with me."

"Well, as long as he is okay with it then I shouldn't worry too much. It's only for a couple of hours anyway." Carl said as he started to move the piles of notes over to a spot near the wall, next to his large stereo system. Blake got up and helped him and soon the floor was nearly clear of anything that could be knocked over.

"By this time tomorrow, the apartment will be in our names and we will be one colossal step closer to our goal." Blake said happily as he gripped Carl's hand as they both sat on the floor. "I will of course be bringing the required paperwork for you to sign but it will be as good as ours, none the less."

"This is pretty exciting." Carl admitted with a smile as he leaned backwards into his hands, Blake's eyes beamed with nearly uncontainable happiness. "Finally moving out on our own and better yet, we get to be with each other without those conditions of yours."

Blake smiled and lightly bumped his shoulder into Carl's, "It's what we've been waiting for so I hope you are ready."

Carl smirked at Blake's innocent flirt, "Oh, I am more than ready, Blakey-boy." Blake's blush deepened slightly before he silently leaned into Carl and placed a light kiss on his lips.


	4. Family Connections

**I already know that my Spanish is horrid. So just beware - It's not all that important anyway :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

When school was dismissed the next day, Blake was picked up by Winston in that very familiar black limo. It has been about two years since he was last picked up at school with it. With a small wave to Carl and Hoodsey, Blake got in and down the road they went, departing for New York.

"How was school today, Master Blake?" Winston asked from the driver's seat. Blake looked up and saw Winston's smiling eyes through the rearview mirror.

"All is well. Grades are still top notch, and Carl is still soaking up all the attention he has received from that silly prank, you know that video I shared with you?" Blake asked.

Winston nodded softly, "Ah, yes. After a stunt like that, I suppose one would expect oodles of responses from their peers. Is this alright with you?"

Blake stopped and thought for a second, no one has ever thought to ask him that before. He simply shrugged when he found he was indifferent about the attention-filled period Carl has been living in, "I really couldn't care less about the gossip of those around me. Though, I do have to admit that school has been quite fascinating recently because of it. I've never seen so many people talk about one topic for so long."

"I'm sure you will experience a more exciting way of life as soon as you hop off to college." Winston said with a hint of happiness but ended with a small sigh moments later.

Sensing a shift in Winston's composure, Blake got up and took a seat right behind Winston and rested his head in his arms as he observed his chauffeur's emotional mannerisms with much sympathy. "Come now, Winston. I won't be much too far from you."

"My apologies, sir. It's just so sudden." Winston said with a tiny sniff, handkerchief in hand. "One moment, you're just a tiny bloke and I'm reading to you from a volume of Shakespeare's entire works and now you're all grown up ready to fend for yourself in such a large, heavily populated city… You kids grow up so fast that I hardly have time to blink before you're all off on your own."

"This isn't farewell at all." Blake said softly placing a hand on his shoulder, still a tad taken aback from the flow of emotion geared towards him. "I will still need you and we did have some rather exciting moments that we can look back on and have a laugh about."

"Oh, that we did, sir. Many, many grand moments… I just wish there were more coming. But soon, you will graduate from the university and be making a name for yourself. It makes me so very proud to see how far you have come in life already, Master Blake." Winston smiled once more. "I can see your future is brighter than time square itself."

This made Blake smile back at him, those sentiments made Blake feel quite emotional himself. He took a deep breath to calm his feelings, "I truly can't find the means to express my appreciation I have for you, my friend. You have always been there for me when I needed a hand out of a sticky situation or to cure my vengeful loneliness, I simply cannot thank you enough."

Winston whimpered lightly before dabbing his eyes with the handkerchief and taking a deep breath of his own. "It has been an honor, sir… Now, buck up and hold your chin high... No need for tears when we have your future to look forward to."

"To right you are, Winston. To right you are." Blake said nicely as he patted his shoulder before he got up and took his normal seat once again. He glanced out the tinted window in silence as they rode through the town's border in the usual afternoon traffic, he was definitely looking forward to just being in New York and finally obtaining the apartment he and Carl had decided on. He was ready to start a new chapter in his life with Carl beside him. He had dreamed about this for as long as he could remember and now, this freedom from his family's tight grip was finally within his reach. He honestly couldn't be anymore happier than he was right now.

* * *

Carl was happy to have been allowed out of his room for once when his mother ordered him to tidy up and sweep the garage before she left to do some grocery shopping but when he looked at the mess in front of him, he stopped and considered that maybe he would have been better off dying of boredom in his room. He shook his head and popped on his headphones and pressed play on the CD player he had hitched onto his belt loop before he got to work on this enormous task. Soon, his ears were filled to the max with a rhythmic guitar rift and he zoned out as he mindlessly organized the mess of tools and other junk that was cluttering the work desk and floor space in front of him. In about an hour he had half of the job done and all he had to do was organize the boxes on the floor and sweep up. To his surprise and minor disappointment, the boxes were free of any growing substances. As soon as he had half of the boxes put away, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned around, flipping his headphones off his head to find his stepfather standing behind him with two cups of tea in his hand.

"This place looks great!" He said with a smile as he held out a cup to him. "You really are facing your mother's wrath like a champ. Need any help?"

"Thanks, Dave-o. I'm actually almost done." He said as he pressed stop on his CD player and took the warm cup into his hands. "I just have to finish up with the boxes and sweep up the floor."

"I can take the floor if you'd like?" He offered.

Carl took a small sip and gave his stepfather a smile, "You don't have to. You helped me enough with keeping the momster at bay."

David laughed a little, he couldn't deny it. Carl could see how much David has been spoiling Lois to keep her mind off his foul deed. All the foot massages, spontaneous cups of tea, and pleasant dinner conversations were no secret to Carl. He knew what he was doing and he appreciated it a lot since he really didn't have to. "Well, there's no use in spoiling your last few months here just because you had a minor hiccup. This time in your life is crucial, we don't need you to leave here feeling resentful towards your mother."

"I could never feel resentful." He said kindly as he leaned against the nearby wall. "She has every right to be upset, I did a bad thing and I know it. I am deserving of all this punishment."

"You… uh… really know how to graciously accept responsibility, Carl." David said in slight surprise before he too took a sip of his beverage. "I'm really proud of you. You have grown up to be an ideal young man." He placed a firm, supportive hand on Carl's shoulder. "If your mother was home and heard you say this, she would be saying the same thing."

Carl smiled at the floor, "Thanks… But the person you should really be proud of is yourself, Dave… You showed me how to handle things like this." Carl has had many role models in his life to look up to. Some of them pretty good and some of them really bad but David was the best he could ever ask for. Much better than his own biological father, Jonas couldn't hold a candle to David in comparison. In the years past, they had their fights but David always remained calm about them. He was consistent and taught him a lot in these many years he has been around. He was the kind of man Carl wished he could one day become. Kind, Confident, and Strong. The total opposite of what Jonas has been like. Jonas was Docile, Awkward, and Insecure… and very, _very_ Flakey. Never truly knowing who his own kids were. Even now, Carl has only seen Jonas maybe twice since the wedding. That was his father's own fault. Carl always looked down on people like him. It actually made him sick thinking about how many of those kinds of people roam the earth.

"Wow… Carl… I don't know what to say." David stammered in shock as he stared into his cup.

"You don't need to say anything, Davester." Carl said to him.

"W-Well… How about we get back to work on this dusty place before your mom shows up?" He said as he recovered himself. He grabbed the big broom from the cupboard.

Carl saluted him with a smile, "On your orders, sir."

* * *

Hoodsey sat quietly in the living room as he watched his new favorite guilty pleasure play out on the screen in front of him, La Muerte del Tiempo.

' _María! No me dejes!_ ' Bruno yelled at the woman who had her back turned away from him. She stopped in her tracks as tears ran down her face. ' _Te quiero. Por siempre y para siempre, mi mascota..._ '

' _Yo no te puedo perdonar, Bruno._ ' Maria said through her sobs. ' _Mi hermana está embarazada y es su culpa… ¡Lejos contigo! Muera yo en mi miseria…_ '

"Woah…" Hoodsey said with his wide eyes glued to the screen as he mindlessly snacked on his helping of potato chips.

"For heaven's sake, Robert Joseph." Joann yelled from the kitchen. "Turn that soap opera down, I can barely hear myself think in here!"

"…Okaay…" He yelled back and he did as he was told, clicking the volume down button on the remote several times as he watched Maria walk away from Bruno into the darkness of the park they were in. "If he wants her so bad, why doesn't he just run after her?" He asked himself before he took a sip of his orange juice.

"I'm heading out to the store to pick up some groceries." His mother said to him from the foyer. "I want you to keep a look out for the delivery guy. I'm expecting a package to come today."

"Uh huh." He said mindlessly, only half hearing his mother's orders. "Will do."

"Okay. I'll be back soon." She said as he heard the door shut behind her. He turned the volume up once again as soon as she left.

' _No puedo tener a este bebé con usted, Bruno._ ' Natalie said to the forlorn man in front of her. He looked at her with hollow eyes. ' _Irá a la familia que va a cuidar de ellos de la manera que nosotros no podemos._ ' Hoodsey laughed at Bruno as he fell down to his knees screaming dramatically at the sky before the outro of the show began and the credits started to roll.

"Hey there, Robert." He heard from the doorway, he looked over at his father from the couch.

"Hey dad. I didn't hear you come in. What's up?" He asked as he held out the remote to him as he walked into the room and occupied his favorite chair. He took the remote and smiled nicely at him.

"Oh, not much. Work kicked my butt like always." He said with a sigh as he flipped through the channels and stopped at the Weather Channel. "How about you? How was school?"

"Uhh… School was school. Y'know… taking notes… sitting through lectures about how tough the finals will be." Hoodsey rambled as he watched some footage of a wild looking blizzard fall over Alaska.

"Is Carl still doing detention?" He asked, curious.

Hoodsey laughed, "Oh yeah. He still has a while to go with the whole Saturday detention thing. Seven more until he is done."

"Wow… He really bit into it this time, didn't he?"

"Oooh yeah." Hoodsey said before he sipped his juice. "Big time. But it's not like he's upset about it or anything. He actually gained some popularity over the whole thing."

"Did he now?" Dave Bishop asked, slightly surprised. "Well… Good for him."

"You know, he's actually kinda happy about it… or at least that's how he's acting anyway, but he's really looking forward to college. Like, him and Blake Gripling are almost obsessed over it."

"How are you feeling about going off to college?"

"Oh… You know… I'm just waiting for the time to come where I have to leave." He said passively. He tried to think about college but all he could truly think about was Macie.

"It's okay to be nervous, Robert." He said supportively. "California is a long way off from here, but I'm sure you will adjust and make friends there. Heck, I'm even sure that you won't miss home too much because you'll be having so much fun."

"That's crazy talk, dad. Of course I'll miss being home. Give it enough time and I will even miss mom's nagging."

His father let out a quick chuckle at that remark, "If you do, I'll make sure she calls you and orders you to do your laundry or something." They both shared a laugh for a good minute but once they fell into a comfortable silence Dave looked over at him and gave him a sad looking smile. "But in all seriousness, son… Keep in touch. It will be much too quiet around here once you leave."

"…I will, dad." He responded giving him a smile of his own. "I promise." When they fell into silence once more, the focus of the show was on a category three hurricane going over a place near the Caribbean Islands. "Uh… Hey dad… I gotta ask you something pretty serious."

"What's on your mind?"

"When did you know you wanted to marry mom?" Hoodsey asked almost instantly. "Like, how did you fall in love? How did you know she was the one you wanted to share your life with?"

Dave raised his eyebrows in mild shock at the questions that were asked. He thought carefully how to answer them. "… Well… You see… When your mother and I went to high school, I actually was pretty scared of her." Hoodsey laughed a little. "But as time went on and we had some _interesting_ conversations. I guess I just started feeling different about her and I found out that I actually liked her, a lot. I didn't have the guts to ask her out though. She actually cornered me in the hallway one day as school was dismissed and kept questioning me about my sudden change in behavior. I could barely get words out so I just kissed her cheek without thinking much about it. Then after that, it was all history. We got married after college and I never looked back… why do you ask?"

"Oh… I just… uh…" Hoodsey stammered as he tried to compose his thoughts.

"Do you have an interest I should know about?"

Hoodsey looked at his dad but lowered his eyes down at the ground as he sipped his drink silently, still thinking about what to say. "I-I still have feelings for Macie… since she is also in California…" He quietly explained as he nervously traced circles on the arm of the couch. "Maybe I could have another shot with her…"

"Is this why you chose to go to school there?"

"Well… Not at first. Then we started to email each other and now I guess it's more that than anything now." Hoodsey admitted. "I just… can't stop thinking about her. It's crazy."

"Well… If that's the case, I say that you should go for it." He said with a smile.

"What? Really…?" Hoodsey asked with wide eyes.

"Sure. I mean, you feel strongly about her. Sure, she did a number on you before she left for college but you bounced back with time. It's a good quality to know what you want, Robert. When you want something, you go for it. It will be a risk but you'll adjust perfectly fine if things between you two fall flat. I'm sure that won't be the case though. I could tell that when you two dated for the first time, she was crazy about you."

Hoodsey smiled with slight relief. He was sure that he was going to react the same as Carl did. "Thanks, dad. You're the best." Dave smiled back at him before they turned their attention back to the television. "Y'know… I wonder if this hurricane will be as bad as the one that hit Mexico last year. That was pretty gruesome."

* * *

When Blake arrived back home, it was late at night. He had spent hours chatting up the real estate agent and worked his charm on her and as a result, he got names for a top notch contractor that could remodel his new place for a great price. During the drive home, he had called the guy and told him what was needed. He was told that he could get the job done by June if he were to work on it immediately, so of course he booked him. Anyone else he talked to had told him that that type of job was going to take until mid-July, like he had explained to Carl. He felt accomplished to say the least. Killing two birds with one stone, so to say.

After he bid Winston a good night and job well done, he ran up to his bedroom with his book bag and planning binder in his hands. He took a seat on the sofa and looked through the paperwork he needed to mail out by tomorrow night, Carl needed to sign them in front of a lawyer (aka Winston, since he graduated from Harvard Law years before starting his employment under the Griplings. He doubled his duty by serving as their personal lawyer) either before school or right after dismissal. It was crucial for the apartment to be in both their names, the law required a cosigner that was the age of eighteen if they were to own such a place. Carl was going to turn eighteen in a matter of months, the real estate agent agreed to turn a blind eye to the difference with a little 'Gripling persuasion' from Prescott, Blake's father. Of course he would still be bending the rules even after that whole insider trading fiasco, that's just how he worked… lots of bribery. When he and Carl went to go to their first meeting with the old 'family friend', she turned to Carl after they arrived and greeted each other, knowing Blake's age was much too far off to ignore.

"I trust that you are of age to be buying a home in New York, Mr. Foutley?" She asked with a smile but her eyes had that knowing gleam, looking for that verbal agreement before starting.

"Well…" Carl started but got bumped into as Blake heavily shifted his stance. "I know I look young, but trust me. I'm a full-fledged adult, _Madame_." She smiled brighter at him before she eagerly showed them some options she had on hand in a folder.

Pulling his mind away from the memory, He consciously crossed the deed off in his planner and added a few more minor details and pushed up the renovation start and end dates. He also went over the carpet options he had, along with the hardwood and paint, securing the decisions so he could mail them to the contractor with the rest of the plans. Yawning at the binder, he sat back and rested his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. His mind was still on the conversation he had with Winston after he picked him up from school. It was something Blake never expected. Sure, Winston tended to get emotional in situations like these but he couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that his parents very rarely showed any emotion towards him after age eight. He sighed silently at the thought. Deep down, he somewhat wished that his parents would show that they too will miss him terribly. Maybe they will miss him but they sure had a funny way of showing it by basically pushing him out of the nest without much of a conversation about the matter. At least someone cared, though. He would forever hold Winston in a special pace in his heart for sharing his thoughts with him.


	5. Focus

"Same time. Next week, Mr. Grundig!" Carl said as he raced out the door of the school once detention was dismissed. He got into his car and left the school campus. At this time, he has been free from his groundment for some time now so Carl met up with Hoodsey at the park where they agreed to hang out for the day.

"How was detention?" Hoodsey asked as Carl walked up to him from the parking lot.

"Boring. Just checking them off as they go, good thing I only have four more to get through." Carl shrugged. "I have to admit that fixing the football field with Fred is pretty fun. Fred is a cool guy... Did you hear from Macie today?"

"Yeah. She said that she thought it would be nice to send me a picture of her, so she did. Oh, and when I get to California she will meet me and take me to see some of the sights. She has a whole day planned out." He explained as they walked around the sidewalk, dodging some roller-skaters as they passed them.

"I would say that it's a good sign."

"Yeah, but I'm trying not to look too much into it. As far as I know, she just wants to help me get adjusted to my new surroundings."

"I see… Well it's still good. I won't have to worry about you too much." Carl said with a slight laugh.

Hoodsey gave him an unimpressed expression before he watched Carl grip a tree branch and start to swing from it, "You don't have to worry about me, period. I'm okay with things like this."

"As true as that is…" Carl started as he swung himself so he could reach his legs over his head and he hooked onto the branch with his legs, making himself hang upside down from the tree. "I'm still going to worry, Hoods. You're my best friend and we're separating for college soon... I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss you, man."

"I know… but this is a good thing, I believe." Hoodsey said as he sat down on the ground next to the tree Carl was hanging off of. "We both get to find out what the world has to offer, we won't be held up in Sheltered Shrubs anymore. We get to find out who we are." Hoodsey gave Carl a small smile before looking out into the deeper part of the park where the kids were playing under the bright sun in the large, open, grassy portion of the park. Carl looked over at the scene out of curiosity. He maneuvered himself so he could pull himself onto the branch and sat on it and they both silently stared.

"Huh…" Carl said as he felt himself grow nostalgic. "Y'know… it seems like zero time has passed between now and when we were their age… it's trippy."

"Yep." Hoodsey agreed. "Now we're going to college in a few months. Life moves fast."

"Ain't that the truth…" Carl sighed. He analyzed himself right then, he found that he no longer felt anxious about moving on in life like he did in years past. He grinned at himself as he looked down at his best friend, "We sound sooo old…"

Hoodsey cracked a laugh at the remark, they use to make fun of older people when they got like this but now they actually understand. "In a way, we kind of are."

"I just got an idea." Carl said suddenly before he jumped off of the branch he was sitting on. Hoodsey looked at him with a slightly cautious expression. "It's nothing bad, I promise." He held a hand out to him and helped him to his feet. "Did you send a picture to Macie yet?" Hoodsey shook his head slowly trying to figure out Carl's angle. "How about we take one?" He flashed his new cellphone at Hoodsey. He just frowned in uncertainty. "This thing has a pretty good camera on it."

"I don't know, Carl… I'm not very photogenic…" Hoodsey said as he looked at the ground and he shoved his hands into his pockets. Carl raised an eyebrow at him as he started to walk onward down the path in front of them. He could see a little bit of pink grow on Hoodsey's cheeks as he walked past him. Carl just rolled his eyes to himself with a small grin. Hoodsey was too embarrassed.

"C'mon Hoods. She was nice enough to send you one, you should return the favor… I believe that she is secretly hoping you would. I have a great idea for a picture." He rushed up to him and hooked his arm under Hoodsey's and hurriedly dragged him to the small pond a few feet away from them, despite Hoodsey's startled objections. Carl let him go before he stuck his hand into the cold water and retrieved a fat frog that was swimming across the water. Hoodsey just gave him half surprised, half unsure look. Carl pat the frog on his back softly and the frog croaked up at him from his hands before jumping up and landing on his shoulder. He laughed and grabbed the frog before it could escape him. He gave Hoodsey the frog and got his phone ready to take a picture. Hoodsey looked at the frog and gave it a light smile, he rubbed the frog's chin before it leaped up to take refuge on his head. Carl laughed and snapped a photo before he caught the frog in midair as it hopped off Hoodsey's head. The frog croaked at him in protest. "That was much better than I thought it would be." He went a put the wiggling frog back in the water, it swam far away from them. "I'll email it to you as soon as I hook my computer back up tonight."

* * *

That night, Blake rode his bike down to the Foutley house like he and Carl planned to do. After he parked his bike in the front yard, he knocked on the door to be answered by Dr. Dave.

"Hey there, Blake." He greeted as he let him inside the house and closing the door behind him.

"Good evening." Blake greeted politely. "Carl is expecting me."

"Up in his room, like usual."

"Thank you, sir." Blake said with a nod before he walked up the stair case in front of him, located Carl's bedroom door and walked through it like usual. He found Carl on the ground under his desk fiddling with something. Blake grinned a little at the sight and closed the door as quietly as he could, successfully producing no tell-tale sounds. He noticed that Carl looked like he was struggling a little. His shirt was lifted slightly due to his arms being over his head trying to reach for something at an awkward angle, Blake felt his face flush slightly at the sight but he shook his head at his wandering thoughts and crossed his arms behind his back. "Do you require assistance?" This startled Carl slightly but it was enough to bump his head on a medal piece above him. He hissed painfully before crawling out from under the desk. "Are you alright?" He asked with a stifled laugh.

"You're getting good at sneaking up on me, Blake." Carl noted as he rubbed the hurt spot on his forehead. Blake felt a little bad about it so he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the slightly reddened spot. That earned an amused chuckle from Carl.

"With all fair warning, Carl, we did have plans tonight." Blake said as he sat down next to him on the floor. "Now, what are you tinkering with? You seemed to be struggling."

"Oh, I was just repairing my computer tower. Lola kind of shifted some of the parts out of place when she hid it in her closet, I told her to be careful while handling this baby… I guess she didn't listen. I was just closing the back when you so suddenly announced yourself." Carl explained as he looked at his tower. He reached over and pulled the heavy machine out of its place and started to tighten the corner screws. "How was your day?"

Blake gazed at the multiple wires next to him and he started to organize them instead of leaving them in a disorganized pile, "Oh… boring for the most part. I talked to the contractor this morning. He updated me on the current state of progress. The living room is completed and the team is presently focusing on the kitchen and bathrooms."

"That's good!" Carl said as he focused on the computer and he looked at the wires next to him before casting an amused look at Blake. He started to plug the wires into the tower. "You said this guy is good. I hope he lives up to his reputation."

"I'm certain he will." Blake said calmly as he mindlessly picked lint off the carpet they were sitting on, he flicked it somewhere near the door. "How's Hoodsey doing this weekend?"

"He's alright. Just hanging around. Talked about Macie, school, college… Stuff like that. Could you help me plug this into the monitor?" Carl asked in a distracted kind of way.

"Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"Just hand me up the wires from the back of the desk and I'll plug them in." Carl said as he got to his feet and turned the thick screen to the side and he observed the outlets on the back. Blake pushed the tower into it original spot and took a wire into his hand and stuck it up to Carl as he held his hand out through the back of the desk. Carl took the wire and plugged it into the spot it needed to go in. They silently repeated this motion four or five different times until all the plugs were in their rightful place except for the power cord remained. "Alright…" Carl sighed as he sat in his desk chair. "Plug this baby in and let's power her up."

Blake took the lone wire and reached for the wall outlet, successfully plugging it in. Carl pressed the power button and the machine roared with life, the screen flashed several times before coming into a welcome page. "Awesome. Thanks for the help, Blakey boy."

"Anytime." He responded as he moved over to the old beanbag chair next to the desk and relaxed into it. "So, I take it that you are now free from your mother's punishment, correct?"

"Affirmative… but she is going to be keeping an eye on me until I leave, as she should. It _has_ been a while since I got myself into this deep of trouble, so I don't really blame her." Carl explained as he turned off his computer and joined Blake on the floor. He took his universal remote in his hands and turned on his stereo, which came to life playing a CD Blake has heard many times before at a low volume. "How about I fix us some tea?"

"I suppose I could use a refreshment after the bike ride I took here." Blake said with a small smile.

"Coming right up. I'll try not to be too long." Carl said before he rushed out of the room, leaving Blake alone. Naturally, Blake looked around and got to his feet, wondering over to the vast CD collection Carl had accumulated through the years. All neatly organized in his standing CD library. It was the only thing he really kept organized now a days. He silently scrolled through them before plucking one CD he had gotten Carl years ago. It was something that hasn't been played in a while so he took out the one that was in the stereo and popped that one in. He smiled to himself as the familiar music filled the room. It was from an artist both he and Carl enjoyed. He was a one man operation with a weird taste in lyrical talent. He played all the instruments and sang beautifully. He was a singular work of art. In Blake's opinion, he never got the type of recognition he deserves. He took pride in the fact that he was the one to introduce Carl to the musical stylings of Hendrik Calamari, having played it for him in his treehouse one summer. Carl couldn't believe that he hadn't found him sooner since he was one to be attracted to eccentric artists.

"This guy could write a song about tomato soup and it could bring tears to your eyes." Carl said as he came into the room, startling Blake out of his train of thought. "It's been a while since I listened to this one. Good choice." He handed Blake a mug and took a seat in the other bean bag chair next to the one Blake had previously occupied.

"The reason I had changed it out." Blake stated before he took the teabag by the string, dunking it several times into the steaming water. "You tend to get stuck on one CD for months before growing bored of it. So, I took the honor and did it myself."

"Thanks for that." Carl said with a chuckle before taking a sip of his beverage, watching Blake return his seat in the beanbag chair next to him. "How's the studying going?"

"It's moving along nicely… Though, I don't need to 'buckle down' for another two weeks but to ensure my perfect GPA goes on unharmed, I have been filling my Saturdays with it."

"Since I'm not around during the day to provide your normal entertainment…?" Carl asked with a smirk.

"Oh, I suppose I must say that the weekends have grown increasingly monotonous without your company." Blake drawled on with a sarcastic eye roll. "But you must do what you have to do. Serve your time and whatnot."

"At least I'll be around now that I'm technically free from my house arrest… Speaking of which, want to come over sometime during the week? Lois and Dave will be on the late shift Monday thru to Thursday." Carl asked him with that slight smirk still present and that very familiar dark gleam in his eyes. "We'll have the place _all_ to ourselves."

Blake stared into his cup silently as he felt his face heat up once again at what Carl was implying, "Hmm…." He hummed and looked at the desk as though he was thinking about it. "It's a possibility."

"A possibility, huh?" Carl asked with a raised eyebrow. He laughed before sipping his tea. "Okay then. We'll see… but I know you can't resist."

"Carl… Honestly." Blake huffed before he distracted himself by also taking a sip of his tea. Carl just laughed once more and Blake felt his whole face heat up, which only happened every once in a while when Carl picks on him like he is now. "You are so irrepressible at times."

"So true… but you love it." Carl teased further.

"I'm sure you are talking about yourself, Carl. Since it seems like a permanent personality trait of yours."

"You're just now realizing that?" Carl asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's like, I've been this way my whole life, just so you know."

"Oh, I am well aware." Blake muttered calmly. "Like I said, it's a possibility that I am able to find some free time this week. We shall see when I look at my schedule." He already knew that he had nothing planned but it wasn't like he was going to give Carl the pleasure of him jumping at the opportunity to have some alone time. It has been a good three months since the last time they had that time for just them and had nothing to worry about. By the looks of it, Carl seemed like he was going to jump him at any moment because of that massive time lapse. The hungry look in his eyes was almost too much to bare at the moment. "I shall let you know if I… C-Carl..?" Blake didn't realize Carl had slightly leaned towards him when he was deep in thought. He tried to keep his composure in check but it was very hard to accomplish.

"Playing hard to get? I might just have to persuade you right now if that's how it's going to be." Carl said in that low tone of voice before he softly nudged Blake's jaw with his nose, his hot breath tickling his neck. He shuddered inwardly at the contact but he attempted to fight off his own urges anyway. "It's not like anyone will hear with the music playing so loudly." Carl had the remote in his hand and he turned the volume up to a passable level.

Blake released a soft, quivering sigh as Carl took Blake's cup away from him and putting it with his own before continuing in his pursuit. He swiftly took Blake's lips with his own. The soft kiss was enough to turn Blake into mush. He did lose himself a little as he ran his hands through Carl's thick hair and deepening the kiss himself. Carl seemed surprised since he dropped the remote and gripped Blake's hips as he was being pulled forward by him. Blake sank further into the beanbag chair. The strong taste of sweetened tea and a hint of dark chocolate made Blake hungry for more. Carl broke the kiss and smirked at him as he released Blake from his grasp and he steadied himself on his knees since he was pulled out of his own seat moments ago.

"You know I wouldn't do this while you are clearly uncomfortable with other people being around. I was just joking at first. Could it be that you are more eager than I am, Blakey boy?" Carl asked in a mischievous tone. Blake stared up at Carl, clearly surprised and speechless. Carl widened his smirk as he gave Blake a knowing look. "I will take that as a definite 'yes' for my offer, then."

"That was horribly low, Carl." Blake sighed as he admitted defeat in Carl's little game.

"Nah, I just know how to push your buttons." Carl said as he returned the music down to its normal volume level. "How about we cool down a little with a video game?" Blake nodded with a slight shrug before Carl tossed him a controller as he set up the TV on the far side of the room. He had to admit that he did feel better after killing off Carl's avatar several times in a row, though he was sure that Carl was just letting him win because maybe he felt bad for teasing him so heavily. At least that's what Blake would like to believe.

* * *

Hoodsey smiled at his computer screen as he re-read the various emails he shared with Macie. He did seem to obsess over them whenever he had free time on his hands. He wasn't sure as to what he should be doing other than this. He had this constant thought in his mind, he was getting pretty pathetic but the feeling of having her near was completely comforting. Her voice was stuck in his mind as he read her words. It was like she was next to him. How could he just let her inch into his heart after what happened? He didn't have a single clue. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft 'ping' coming from his speakers, meaning he had a new email in his inbox. He returned to his inbox and saw an unread email from Carl with no subject title. He already knew what was in it, but he opened it anyway.

 _Send it to her!_

He read the single demanding sentence and sighed to himself as a feeling of slight nervousness poked at him. He stared at the file that was attached to it. He would rather not only because he never liked pictures of himself but Carl did have a point, she selflessly sent him a picture so he should return the favor. It was a while since she sent it to him so he thought he could get away with it, but with Carl being Carl… He wouldn't let him forget it. Hoodsey clicked the file and downloaded the picture in seconds. The picture stared at him in the middle of the screen, he really couldn't help but admit that it was a pretty good one. The frog was just chilling out on his head and he was smiling slightly up at it. It was natural, not forced like all the other pictures he took to humor his mother. He was due to reply back to Macie anyway…

* * *

Macie was fast asleep on her bed surrounded by her books and detailed notes, obviously passed out in the middle of her research and studying. It was late afternoon and she had left her last class for the day at noon. She was startled awake when her roommate came in.

"Huh?!" Macie gasped as she sprang up at the sound of the door slamming closed. She stared up at the freckle-faced blonde female who looked surprised at herself for unknowingly slamming the door.

"Oh jeeze… I'm so sorry, Macie… I didn't mean to do that." She said softly.

She yawned deeply as looked around at her books and scattered papers, "It's alright, Jenny. I think I just dozed off… I need to study for this final anyway."

"It's no wonder you 'dozed off'. You've been at it all night!" Jenny said with a tiny laugh as she tossed her two textbooks onto her bed. "You need to sleep sometime, you know. Or you could at least take a small break every now and then. You're going to fry your brain."

Macie gave her roommate a smile, appreciating her worry. "I sleep." She laughed in a breathy way before her throat started to tickle a little. She reached into her nightstand and grabbed a cough drop from her stash and popped it into her mouth.

"Like, every other night." Jenny replied in a smart tone. She just sighed as she watched Jenny brush her hair in the moment's silence, she was right of course. She pulled an open book into her lap and grazed its contents but suddenly felt herself grow tired once again. If she didn't know any better, she could swear that the book was draining her of all the motivation she had. "Oh, I have an idea! Maybe you could take that break and go with me to the field tonight! They're having a movie marathon there and _everyone_ is going to be there!"

"…Again? Didn't they do that a week ago?" Macie asked, casting a slightly raised eyebrow at her.

Jenny laughed, "Yeaaah, so many people loved it and they decided to make it a weekly thing. I mean what's cooler than watching a movie in the middle of the football field? It's a great way to relax with friends. _Away_ from all the studying and homework."

Macie sighed again and looked out the window between their beds, "…I guess I could use the break."

Jenny looked at her with an overly joyous expression, "Really?! Like, you'll really go?"

She laughed in amusement at Jenny's hyperactive reaction, "Yeah, I'll go. I think I've had enough Cognitive Psychology for one day." She then closed her book and set it behind her.

"Yay!" Jenny said happily as she hopped on the balls of her feet happily. "Donna is going to be sooo happy to see you out of this room for once! AND I can introduce you to my new date, Jason! You'll like him. He's so funny. He'll have you laughing all night. He's a biology major." She rambled excitedly.

Macie thought back to when she met her last date the other week, she looked at Jenny slightly confused. "What happened to Gary?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Jenny asked her as she sat on her own bed across the way from Macie. "He was a total doofus… He thought it would be cute to get all grabby with me at the club… so I broke it off with him." Macy knew that Jenny had a problem with guys trying to move too fast with her, she was happy that she got a roommate that actually respected herself unlike most of these girls who would shack up with just about any guy in these co-ed dorms. "Jason is so much better of a guy. _Trust me_."

"I'm sure I will, Jen." She replied, feeling slightly unsure about the next guy because if she knew anything about Jenny's past relationships through the short years they shared a dorm room, they all had the same mentality no matter how sweet they seemed to be at first. Jenny had to be the most sought after woman here, she was very pretty and had an amazingly bright personality. A soft chime echoed through the room. "…I think you got an email, Mace. Oh! Is it that guy again?" Jenny asked excitedly as she hopped off her bed and kneeled next to her on the floor as Macie pulled her laptop into her lap and opened it up. The screen lit up with life as she looked at the inbox already open, sure enough it was from Hoodsey. She has been waiting for him to reply back for two days now. She felt a smile creep across her face before she opened the email. Jenny was just looking at her and waiting for a reaction of some sort.

 _That's all understandable, I can't think about how hard the work will be when I start at Berkley. If it's harder than the load of homework I've been juggling for four years, I don't know how I'll get used to it. Just promise me you won't over work yourself. I would hate to hear that you've been rushed to the hospital because of the stress. I've heard that happens sometimes. Like, your body can't keep up with everything because of working too hard… or something like that. Take a break once in a while, get some rest and fuel up before your finals. Stress can also reflect on your grades in a negative way. We don't need that, now do we? Keep yourself healthy, okay? I worry about you._

 _This may sound a little simple or whatever but I have to admit that I can't wait to see you again. It's been a while. To tell the truth, I miss you being around. I also can't wait to see California. It's going to be great, I can tell. Your tour will be really fun and I'm not just saying that. I'm really excited! Like, I would leave right now if I could._

 _As far as new things going on over here, nothing new really… Other than everyone talking about prom. It's going to be next month. I'm not going. I already went to prom with you so I don't really see a reason to go if I've already went once, you know? Carl has been keeping his nose clean since his little prank last month. Been serving his punishment without any complaints. He says his parents have been keeping a close eye on him and to be honest, so have I. I don't want him to get into any more serious trouble. I don't think he will, he knows how much he has to lose if he did. His whole future would be uprooted and destroyed. Keep me updated on your progress when you're done with your finals. I'm sure you will be at the top of your classes like normal, even if the work is harder than the last term. You're a great student!_

 _\- Hoodsey_

Macie read through the email slowly, absorbing all of his words. She felt rather flattered with him being so excited to come out and hang out with her. She felt her throat dry up at the nervousness she felt, the thought of hanging around him again made her feel happy but it reminded her of the awful way she dumped him after dating for so long. "What did he say? Anything good? I can't wait to meet him." Jenny spoke up after several minutes of silence, interrupting her deep thoughts.

She looked at her roommate and smiled at her a little, "He's worried about my intense studying. He is very excited to be coming over here… and some stuff going on at home." She recalled to her as she looked at the screen. She scrolled down to see if he added anything. Nothing else was written but there was a file attached. Slightly confused, she clicked it and a picture was quickly downloaded. It popped up on her screen in front of the email and it was Hoodsey with a frog on his head. It's been a while since she saw that smile. She mindlessly gulped and ended up swallowing her half done cough drop. She gasped quickly before being taken over with short coughs. Jenny was quite startled as Macie accidentally dropped her laptop on the floor and started coughing uncontrollably.

"Woah, Macie… are you okay?!" She asked through her dry coughs. Macie reached her hand over at her nightstand but failed to grab the thing she needed. Jenny helped her and grabbed her water bottle and gave it to her. Macie took a short sip of the water after the coughs ceased. She tried catching her breath after that little episode. Jenny also handed her the inhaler that was on the table as well with a small smile. Macie took it from her and took a deep puff from it. Soon, she was back to her normal breathing pattern. Jenny picked up the laptop and glanced at the open screen. "Hey… he's kinda cute." Macie looked at her and felt her face grow slightly warmer at the statement, Jenny looked a little shocked when she observed her face. "Why, Macie Lightfoot… are you blushing?" She teased as she set the laptop on the bed. She just shut the top of the small computer and looked at the ground. "I've never seen you blush before. It's so adorable!"

Macie just looked up at Jenny when the blush subsided seconds later, "He's an ex from high school." She stated softly.

"Why didn't you tell me before? I just thought he was a guy from home. You know about my ex's. You've been holding out on me, missy."

"I didn't see a reason to say anything." She shrugged.

"Well… Are you feeling anything for him?" Jenny asked as she sat on the floor and leaned against Macie's bed next to her.

She thought about it and smiled to herself but it fell when she remembered how she dumped him years ago, "I guess I never stopped having feelings for him. I only dumped him because I was moving here and I didn't want to hold him down with a long distance relationship."

"Yeah, long distance relationships are pretty horrible. I don't blame you for doing that. But if he never saw it coming, then it must have hurt."

"Considering that a second before I ended things between us, he kind of confessed his love for me." She explained, Jenny looked up at her with a shocked expression. "Needless to say… I felt terrible about it. Doing a hit and run on him… He didn't deserve it."

"Oh god… So would I… I can't even imagine…"

"I started to email him because I wanted to repair the bridge between us, you know? I couldn't keep thinking about how I hurt him. I wanted to make it better. I honestly thought he would hate me… but that doesn't seem to be the case."

"That's a relief. So since he's going to be going to school in the next town over, are you going to try to get back with him?" She asked.

That was a good question, "I don't know… If the opportunity arises… possibly..?"

"I think you should. He seems to still care for you."

Macie couldn't find a reply but when she thought about his words, she couldn't hold back the smile. Secretly, she hoped that he still felt those feelings he confessed to her those years ago.


	6. Summer Storm

Blake sat at his work desk staring at his notes, not really reading them, as he listened to the rain pitter patter softly on the roof of his treehouse. It was Thursday night and he has been ignoring Carl's phone calls since Tuesday. He was always just calling to see if he wanted to come over. For once, his persistence was kind of annoying him… and there was also the fact that he was still pretty sore at him for that rather unnecessary tease the last time he went to Carl's house so he decided to let him hang for a while. However, Blake did start to feel really bad about ignoring his boyfriend when it was brought up in hallway conversation that afternoon.

' _How come you're not picking up my calls, Blake?_ ' He could hear in his mind. Blake just sighed to himself as he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, he sat backwards into his chair. He remembered giving the excuse that he has been much too busy this week booking the moving company or something like that. Blake knew full well that booking the movers wasn't set until next month after the graduation ceremony. It was just a senseless excuse. With a moment of going back and forth in his mind, Blake stood up and put his raincoat on before leaving the warmth of his treehouse to go walk the short distance to the Foutley residence in the light rainfall. Surely Carl wouldn't mind him showing up early evening, would surprise him a little knowing Blake usually shows up at around four in the afternoon after concluding his homework tasks for the day. Blake had to admit that his stomach was all a flutter with butterflies with each step he took down the long since memorized path. Knowing Carl, he didn't know what to expect once he found himself looking at the front door from the sidewalk.

* * *

All week, Carl had been spending most of his time trying to figure out what was going on with Blake. He has been less than receptive of him since his last visit, so he could only come to the conclusion that maybe he had pushed him too far with that stunt he pulled on him. He walked himself into the kitchen to find some leftovers to eat after spending his time alone in the living room, zoning out into the television trying to make himself feel a little better from the rejection he has endured. He mindlessly grabbed a container of spaghetti from two nights ago and started to grab a plate until the doorbell chimed through the house, startling him slightly. He abandoned the leftovers and headed over to answer the door with haste. Sure enough when he opened the locked door, Blake was staring at him from his stoop wearing the same black rain coat he had brought with him to school that day. Carl folded his arms in front of him and looked at the cloaked blonde with a raised brow and a light smirk on his face.

"Of course you would show up at the last possible minute." Carl greeted with an amused tone.

Blake just looked up at him and pushed his way inside the door and swiftly closing it behind him before he made a smooth lunge for Carl, wrapping his arms around his neck. "Oh, shut up." He muttered before placing a heavy kiss on his lips. Carl's eyebrows shot up in surprise before he closed his eyes and wrapped an arm around his waist and pushed him back into the door a little rougher than he had anticipated to. Blake groaned against Carl's lips at the motion, obviously not expecting that to happen. Carl locked the door back up with his free hand before he hurriedly unzipped the wet coat and pushing it off of his visitor. Blake lowered his arms and it slid off onto the floor in front of the door totally forgotten. Blake clutched Carl's t-shirt in lightly clasped fists, never broken the kiss. He nipped at Carl's bottom lip and Carl chuckled lightly at Blake's sudden hunger before he pulled himself from the kiss. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?" He asked as he looked Blake in the eye.

Blake rolled his eyes at him a little and gave a relaxed, small smile. "Maybe. I still haven't decided… You could possibly sway my decision if we continue from where we left it."

Carl smirked and he grazed a hand against Blake's back through the black turtleneck shirt. This straight forward, no-beating-around-the-bush seducing was starting to turn him on. "Suddenly so gutsy… I dig it… Alright, you asked for it."

Carl took one of Blake's hands from his shirt, lacing his fingers with Blake's. He hurriedly led the way up the staircase and took Blake into his arms at the top of it and he teasingly grazed his lips against Blake's, walking him into his room and kicked the door shut behind them before they collapsed onto Carl's bed, colliding into a full kiss once they hit the fluffy comforter. Carl engulfed himself into the deep contact, allowing himself to melt into a high he had missed very much. It had been way too long since the last occurrence. Blake instigated the deeper kiss by slowly assaulting Carl's tongue with his own. Carl groaned at it and reciprocated eagerly. He tasted hints of Blake's expensive winter mint toothpaste from his usual post-lunch brushing. This made him hunger for more so he slipped a hand under Blake's shirt, slowly caressing his smooth skin. Blake took a sharp inhale through his nose out of surprise. Carl pulled away and looked at the turtleneck blocking the spot he wanted to devour next and he frowned at it. If he moved the high collar Blake would have a fit if he stretched it out so he smirked at Blake, who was looking at him through dazed eyes, his cheeks flushed a very bright pink. "This is going to have to go." Carl said in a low tone as he moved to take the shirt off. Blake complied, hurriedly tossing it off and throwing it somewhere unknown. Carl pecked Blake's lips softly and moved his way to the bottom of his now bare neck and tickled his soft skin with his lips and tongue. Blake responded to the insanely light touch with a short, impatient whimper and he arched up slightly to make Carl get closer. His impatience was slightly amusing to Carl until Blake shamelessly ran his hands under Carl's shirt and effortlessly slid the loose top off over his head and slid down his already slightly raised arms. He just smirked and flung the shirt off completely before ravishing Blake's collarbone between his teeth. Perhaps he was a little too rough because Blake hissed at it before raking his hand through Carl's hair taking a fistful and pulling him off. He gave him a slight glare as he locked his eyes on Carl's.

"I am not some kind of steak, Carl." He scolded.

"Sorry." Carl breathed before he was released. "…I will try to be a little more gentle… but you did ask for it though." He smirked lightly. Blake just gave him a small smile before he softly trailed his fingers against Carl's bare torso as slowly as he could. Carl felt his skin erupt in goosebumps at the feather-like touch and his stomach started to flutter, full of butterflies as he gazed down at his other half. The light from the final minutes of sunset was making Blake look so full of life, simply glowing. The light from the nightstand was adding to it as it casted shadows around them. Blake's fingers trailed over his rib cage and slowly over his abdomen before stopping at the waist of his jeans. He hooked his fingers into the secured belt and he leaned forward, placing his light kisses on Carl's chest. His head started to spin with every randomized peck and Blake took advantage of his somewhat apparent weakness by swiftly knocking him down onto the mattress with his fingers still hooked into his jeans and belt which he was now working on releasing the buckle while working downward with those tantalizing butterfly kisses. Moments passed and Blake successfully released that buckle and the button of the jeans. He smirked at Carl as he rose to face him, he attacked his lips and slowly slipped his hand further downward. Carl groaned deeply into the kiss as he was greeted with Blake's soft and gentle touch. Suppose he was forgiven after all…

* * *

After dinner was done, Hoodsey had gone up to his bedroom and was now relaxing in bed as he read a book he was to complete before fourth period the next day. He had just gotten to the last chapter when he was interrupted from it by his mother.

"Robert Joseph." He heard her call down from the bottom of the staircase, good thing his bedroom door was open a crack. "You have a phone call! I suggest you hurry yourself down here."

He looked up at the ceiling, slightly confused. He wasn't expecting any phone calls tonight so he didn't know who it could possibly be at this hour. "I'm coming." He yelled back as he laid the book down beside him before leaving his room and rushing down the stairs, taking the phone from Joann's hand and she left him there alone as she went back into the kitchen. "Hello?"

"Hey Hoodsey." A familiar voice answered him, the very memory of that voice struck him down like a lightning bolt to his very being, memories flashing past him in high speed. "…It's Macie." She said after he didn't say anything for a moment.

He was jilted back to his conscious mind. "O-Oh, Yeah Hi. W-What's up?" He stammered nervously, gripping the phone a little tighter. He couldn't imagine why she would want to call him. She didn't mention anything about it in her last email.

"Nothing much.. I-uh-I was just hoping you could keep me away from my books for a little while with a little conversation. I'm having a hard time trying to relax and tomorrow, I have to take the bigger final I have to face out them all." She explained, she did have a stressful sounding tone to her voice. "My laptop is dead so I can't really email you so I thought that this was the next best way to reach you… Is this okay?"

He relaxed a little and smiled to himself, "Yeah! It's okay… So, where is your roommate? I thought she was normally the one that kept you from over studying."

"She is but she went out on a date and still hasn't returned so… here I am…" She said, ending it with a light sigh. He smiled at the sound. It has been too long since he had heard it.

"Alright well, what's been going on over there? Anything interesting?" He asked. He instantly cringed at how basic that question was.

"Just the usual dorm party here and there. They have been pretty frequent now that the big finals are coming closer and closer. I think a lot of the people here are freaking out because they haven't spent much time on their studies. Almost everyone spends their time at all the social events on campus."

"It's a good thing that you don't get into that type of stuff. There are bound to be different temptations at those events." He answered as he took the phone and sat on the bottom steps of the staircase next to him.

"Well, I _did_ come here to get an education. I don't really like the parties here. I went to one when I first got here… It's not my thing. I'll tell you something though, Last night the school held a scream-fest in the football field. That was a new thing, I wish they had that the first year I went here… It would have helped me a lot."

"What's a scream-fest?"

"Oh, it's just a campus-wide round up. We gather up into the middle of the football field and when everyone is there, they post a countdown on the scoreboard and when it reaches one… everyone screams as loud as they can for a whole minute. It's genius. Once it was done, I felt so much better… I'm sure one of the new psych professors came up with the idea."

"Wow. That's awesome! I can see how that could decrease the stress of the finals." He said with a light laugh. "You're school holds a lot of events that promote the sense of community, I think that's really cool."

"Yeah, I didn't expect this much involvement coming into it. I'm glad that they do this stuff though. It adds to the college experience." She said happily with a breathy laugh, she didn't sound that stressed anymore so he was happy that he could help her. "They have a lot of events here that is centered around the arts programs too… Makes me miss playing the clarinet."

"I thought you would have picked it back up after high school."

"I didn't see how that would help me with my major. It really wouldn't. At this point, I would just be playing it out of enjoyment… Now, I just don't have the time to indulge in it like I would." She said with another sigh. "…I have been catching myself thinking back on a lot of things recently. Time moves by so fast… It just seems like yesterday I was still in Sheltered Shrubs hanging out with Ginger and Dodie. We only talk on the phone maybe once a month now. Even then, we don't talk for more than thirty minutes. It's like we have grown too far apart now. Like we are all totally different people now from when we were younger."

When she talked about her completely tight friendships being unraveled like that, it made him think about a possibility that it could happen to him and Carl once they separate for college. He had to admit to himself that the thought of that scared him a lot. He always thought that they would always be as close as they have been through their life, come what may. "Yeah… These things do happen. I mean you are in California. Dodie is in Pennsylvania… And Ginger is in Florida. From what I hear, you all are very busy. So, free time to talk is pretty hard to come by but I'm sure that when you guys do have that time you're gabbing just like you used to do." He said as he stared at his feet. "It's… just, like… You never stop being friends just because you're busy. Real friends understand but when you need them, they are right there for you. I mean you guys have been through a lot together, it's not like your suddenly strangers when you move on to different paths." At this point it just felt like he was trying to convince himself of this.

"Yeah, this is true. I don't know.. I just sometimes miss the simple times, you know?"

He stared down at the floor as he felt that statement reach deep into his soul, he could definitely relate to what she was saying. "Yeah. I know that all too well… I'm getting ready to go off on my own and I do find myself thinking about the past few years where I had all this time to have fun and enjoy life and everything… It's all happening really fast… but it's like, I'm okay with it. Living in the past isn't very helpful so we just have to move forward and see where life takes us."

Macie made a very light, breathy sound but by memory, it just meant she was smiling just a little bit. She always did when he made a logical explanation. He felt himself grin just a little. "…You really have grown up a lot since I last talked to you like this, Hoodsey." She commented in a soft tone. "It's very becoming of you."

He felt himself blush a little at the compliment and he laughed a little out of habit, "Thanks… Are you feeling better?"

"After talking to you… You have no idea." She said in reply. She did seem to sound a lot better than she did minutes ago. "Thank you, Hoodsey."

"For what? I didn't do much." He said bashfully.

"You did enough to help me get through the rest of the year. Our constant contact is always something I look forward to and you really do know how to make me feel better… So, Thank you… for everything." He couldn't help but smile at the sincerity in her voice and his heart pounded heavily inside his chest like it often did when they use to talk like this in the past. He really did still love Macie Lightfoot. She was always this constant light in his life and right now, even though he couldn't see her, she was shining even brighter than he remembered.

* * *

As the still darkness of the night covered the town, Carl laid awake in his dimly lit room trying not to move. Afraid that he might disturb Blake in his slumber. He didn't want to do that. He just wanted to watch him as he slept, free from any worry he may have. It was still early at night, eight thirty-five to be exact, and his parents weren't expected to be home until at least one in the morning. So it was okay for him to let his partner sleep for a little while. He stared at Blake as he was leaning against his shoulder nicely tucked under the covers, he was always so peaceful looking when he slept. It always made Carl melt just a little bit. He softly moved a piece of his messed up, blonde hair away from his forehead. All these years later, He was still somewhat baffled as to how all this happened in the first place. One minute, he was so annoyed just by the sight of Blake and the next he was curled up in bed with him in his arms. It was crazy but as it is now, he wouldn't have it any other way.

As he let his thoughts wander, he was surprised when he heard a light rumbling stomach growl coming from the younger teen beside him. Carl looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Had Blake not eaten dinner before coming over? It was highly possible since he remembered his kisses had a very faint taste of toothpaste. It would have been stronger if he brushed after dinner hour. He was just going to eat leftovers tonight but with Blake here, he thought that might be a little tacky. Presenting previously made food to a guest wasn't exactly the most polite thing to do. So, Carl gently lifted Blake from his shoulder and had him lean against his pillow before slipping out of the bed and throwing on his jeans. Thank goodness Blake was a heavy sleeper because he still looked as comfortable as he was just a moment ago. He pulled the covers over Blake so his shoulders were completely covered before leaving the room as quietly as he could. As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he saw that raincoat laying on the ground in front of the door like it was left an hour ago. He went and placed the coat on a hook on the wall before walking into the kitchen. He put the spaghetti back in the fridge before roaming around to look for something to make. He settled on some chicken that was thawing out on a shelf of the fridge, he was going to have to wake up to get some chicken from the store before school to replace these but it will be worth it.

* * *

Blake stirred from his nap when he smelled something delicious wafting into the closed room. He reached an arm out to the side where Carl once occupied, he found it was empty. He looked around him and he was completely alone. The smell of food was stronger now than it was a moment ago and in response his stomach rumbled loudly against his will. He remembered that he didn't eat anything since lunch at school. He sat up and sighed, it's been a while since he slept that hard. He enjoyed it immensely, minus the fact that he woke up alone. After a moment of waking up from his sleepy haze, Blake got out of the bed and threw his recently discarded clothes back on before leaving the room and following the smell down to the kitchen where he found Carl plating a freshly cooked meal. The radio was on and filled the room with soft music. When he walked in, he took a seat at the already set table. Carl looked at him from over his shoulder and gave him a light smile as he was putting a helping of vegetables and white rice on a plate.

"You look well rested." Carl stated to him. "I thought you would wake up soon so I made you some tea." He continued before grabbing a mug that was sitting off to the side and he placed it in front of him. "I hope you're hungry."

Blake smiled a little at the sweet gesture and he cupped the mug in his hands, letting the warmth radiate into his palms, "…I'm actually quite famished."

"Good, because food is served." Carl replied before picking up the loaded plates and placed one in front of him before sitting in the seat next to him with his own helping. Once again, Blake was surprised by Carl's powers of perception. He silently smiled at Carl before taking a sip of the warm tea. He looked at the well prepared meal before taking the silverware in his hands. When he took the first bite, flavor exploded the moment the food touched his mouth. Carl smiled at Blake before he attacked his own helping.

"I must say… You've out done yourself once again, Carl. This meal is quite spectacular." Blake said before he calmly loaded his fork once again.

He just raised an eyebrow at him, "Look at who you're talking to, Blake… I am sure you already knew I'm a good cook."

"…Touché." Blake muttered before taking another bite. "I just had to mention it."

"Like you usually do." Carl laughed before sipping his own tea. "I appreciate it. I won't turn down a good stroke to my ego."

"As if it needs to grow any more than it already has."

"Nonsense, I have a lot more growing room." He joked. Blake just rolled his eyes at the remark as he silently continued eating. "So… I've been wanting to ask you something. Since you wouldn't pick up your phone and I can't ask at school for obvious reasons, it's been hard trying to hold you down to ask you."

Blake raised an eyebrow at him as he took his mug in his hands, "What would you like to ask?"

"Well…" Carl started and he looked at the wall in front of him as if he were trying to piece together what was on his mind. Blake just stared at him, patiently waiting. "Everyone at school has been talking about it all month… I was just wondering if you were planning on going to prom."

Blake just stared at him over his mug, frozen in place. This came out of nowhere. To tell the truth, Blake had never thought about it because he really didn't see the point in it. Carl stared back at him with a blank expression. The change in song took Blake out of his thoughts and he finally took a silent sip of tea. "…Are you trying to ask me to go with you, Carl?" He inquired as calmly as he could.

"Kind of." Carl stated right away. This just confused Blake even further. "Well you see, since this dance is almost a must-do before graduation. We could make an appearance if you're curious but Hoodsey doesn't have any intention of going to it since he already went once before. So, we were talking about it all week and we were thinking that after you and I pop in to see what it's like… the three of us could go on a trip somewhere. Kind of like a last hurrah before we spilt up for college. What do you think?"

Blake relaxed a little bit. He let his eyes roam around the room as he thought about the possibilities. It was an interesting proposition. A lot more appealing than going to an overrated school dance. "It sounds very intriguing… where did you want to go?"

"We aren't really that sure. Somewhere that would be fun for a few teenagers. We are drawing a blank there so what do you think? I mean, you've been all over." Carl said as he polished off his plate of any remaining bites of food.

Blake sat and thought for a little while since he had already finished his food, "Well, there are many different choices here. Do you want to stay inside the country or doesn't it matter?"

"Doesn't really matter. We have passports and money." Carl said excitedly.

"Money… don't be silly. If I'm included in the planning process, I'll cover it. Well… If you're feeling ambitious… There is this one amusement park in the Netherlands that is rather fun. I've been there a handful of times in the past few years." He said before finishing off his tea. "It's something that I'm sure you and Hoodsey will enjoy, Just got to consider time zones and we would probably want to stay the weekend if you choose a different country. If you are wanting to stay in the country, we could just go down to Florida. Spend some time roaming around the beaches, visit the many other amusement parks in the area. I'm not exactly fond of Miami so I'd rather not go around there… The possibilities are pretty much endless. Where ever you would like to go. Just give me a decision in a week so I can consult my connections."

"Alright!" Carl said with a wide smile. "This will be so much fun."

"A lot better than what I was originally planning on doing that night." Blake said happily. This idea was virtually perfect. Carl simply nodded before getting up and taking their plates and putting them in the sink. "Thank you for the meal, Carl… I suppose I'll be heading home, don't want anyone to worry if someone notices I'm gone." He stood up from the table.

"I'll give you a ride. It's pretty dark out now." Carl offered with a small smile before approaching him so he wouldn't get away before he could stop him.

Blake looked at him and found himself mirroring that smile, "If you insist." He replied as he held his head high before doing a look-over at the red head, noticing he was shirtless and the rain was just starting up again. Blake placed a hand on Carl's forearm and grazed his fingers across his skin. "You may want to put on a shirt, I couldn't bear to risk you catching a cold."

"If I do, you would have to take care of me… that doesn't sound too bad actually." Carl said thoughtfully with a smirk. Blake dropped his hand and rolled his eyes at him with an amused expression before crossing his arms in front of him. Of course he would. "Okay." Carl laughed. "I'll go get a shirt on. Then we can leave." He then left the kitchen, racing up the stairs.

Blake wandered to the front door and pulled on his raincoat, patiently waiting for Carl's return. He did come back down in seconds, keys in his hands. "Ready?" He asked.

"Never." Blake responded seriously. Carl just gave him a smile before he unlocked the door and opened it for him. They both walked out and Carl locked the door once more before they both made a short sprint to the car through the down pour. Once inside the car, the air filled up with music from the radio as Carl backed up the car from the driveway and drove the car down the road towards the Gripling house. They enjoyed the comfortable silence before turning into the large driveway. "Thank you for the ride."

"Thank you for the visit." Carl responded with sincerity. Blake felt his face grow warm before smiling at him once again.

"I did agree to come over."

Carl just laughed before leaning over to him and placing a small kiss on his cheek. Blake felt himself cringe but he sighed and forced a smile anyway, he was still very skittish about public displays of affection… especially in front of his own house. "I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. Big test in class, don't forget it."

"Me? Forget a test?" Carl questioned jokingly. Blake raised an eyebrow knowing he is prone to forgetting things that go on in school. He just laughed at himself. "I got it covered, don't worry, and I love you too. Now go before Winston has a heart attack… or anyone else for that matter." He smiled at the remark and gave him a simple wave before opening the car door and racing to the front doors. He watched Carl pull out away from the property before he left the front doors and made a beeline for the side door around to the kitchen side of the house. He seamlessly slipped through the door and navigated himself through the darkness. Once he reached the staircase, he was almost home-free. That wasn't the case however.

"Ahem…" He heard from behind him and a light was flipped on, illuminating the entire foyer. Blake turned and saw his father just standing there, staring at him with a very unimpressed expression. _Drat_ …

* * *

 **A/N** : I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story as a whole! There is a lot of stuff that is going to be going on in this story, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Please do leave me some reviews! I love hearing from you all. Xoxo!


	7. If It's Not One Thing, It's Another

_Now he really did it_ … Blake straightened himself up and looked his father in the face as he was walking closer to him, maintaining that straight face, his grey eyes looking colder than usual. "H-Hello, Father. W-What are you doing up at this hour?" Blake asked nervously as he folded his arms behind him, resulting in a puddle collecting in his palms from the dripping water off his rain coat. He hastily took it off and putting it on the staircase railing for now, since the coat closet was on the other side of the room and he was stuck in place under the cold, judging glare of Prescott Gripling.

"I say.. I must be asking you that exact same question, Son." He said rather calmly with a raised eyebrow. "No appearance at dinner. I figure you must be studying in your room so I go to check myself and you are nowhere to be found. Not even in your old treehouse. So, where could you have possibly disappeared to, pray tell?" He asked as he slid a hand into a pocket of his tartan bath robe.

"Well… I-I just visited a friend of mine and I stayed a little longer than I had anticipated-" Blake started but his father raised a hand in front of him, stopping Blake mid-excuse. Blake gulped at the motion. He had never gotten lectured by his father before so he didn't know what to expect from him.

Prescott pursed his lips as he stared at Blake, "That car… It's Carl Foutley's. Am I correct?"

"Yes, sir." Blake answered clearly on the inside he was sweating pretty hard, what if he saw something..?

"He was the friend you were paying a late visit." He stated as he turned is back to Blake. "…He's a charming young man. I'm glad he is the one you are going to be living with in New York. He has a good head on his shoulders." Blake wasn't sure as to what was going on here. Was he going to get yelled at? "I must express my concerns, Blake… All these four years, I have seen a lot of Carl Foutley around here. It's an excellent thing to have a loyal colleague but I foresaw you having much more than just two little friends. Look at your sister for instance, she had many peers around her and now she is simply thriving in her industry. I always had my fair share of devotees at your age before going into college."

"Father..?" Blake asked as he grew more and more confused.

"How will you succeed if you have no followers?" He asked as he looked at him.

Blake checked his posture and felt himself fill with that familiar feeling of shame he usually felt when his Father asked him these types of things, "I-I have never liked being the center of attention amongst my peers, I found that I'm better if I have a very few good friends around to support me, sir. I'm sure I will gain 'devotees' when I put my art out on a gallery. I don't need everyone following me around to know I'm exceptional at what I do or know who I am…" Blake started to feel that shame turn into anger slowly consuming him. "And frankly, the people at school are a great bore to me except Carl and Robert Joseph… They actually care about me and I need that in my life unlike you and Courtney. If I'm not going to be cared about by my _own family_ than I had to find someone who did or who knows how I might have ended up like! Carl keeps me on track, He cares about me and I care about him the same…" He ranted in an elevated tone of voice. He huffed and found himself only talking about Carl at this point. "And Robert as well, of course…" He recovered swiftly. "But my point is, I'm not like you or Courtney. I am _Blake Sofia Gripling_! I _will not_ apologize for not being the way you saw me as. It took me years to figure out how different I was in this family and thanks to my friends, I now understand that it isn't a terrible thing at all! So I suggest you stop making me feel like it is such a horrible thing to be different and just accept me the way I am, Father… Or else you may not hear from me at all once the move is complete." A sense of independence flowed through his veins right then as Prescott silently stared at him with a surprised expression. "I bid you a good night. I am rather fatigued and I need sleep in order to function tomorrow." He just turned and stomped up the staircase.

"Well..!" Prescott huffed. "You get _back_ down here, Young man! … _Blake Sofia_!" Bake just ignored his protests and locked himself inside his room for the night, leaving his flabbergasted father downstairs alone. Blake grinned to himself at how he handled himself against his Father. Years ago, he would have just taken it and stress himself out about it but now he truly is ready to face the world if he can dare to hold himself up against his own father.

* * *

"We are all clear, Hoods." Carl said happily as Hoodsey walked into the house that next morning.

"Clear for what…?" Hoodsey asked in a sleepy haze. He looked like he had barely slept at all.

"Uh, duh! Blake agreed to help us plan our pre-college trip! Isn't this great?" Carl asked, repeating the happiness in his voice.

Hoodsey looked at him and yawned loudly before sitting on the couch in the living room, "Yeah? That's great. Can't wait."

Carl raised a brow at his best friend's not-so-normal attitude, "What's going on with you, Hoods? You're usually a morning person."

"Oh… I just spent most of the night on the phone… didn't get much sleep." Hoodsey said as he held his head in his hands with his eyes closed.

Carl furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before taking a seat in the armchair next to the couch. They sat quietly and thought about it for a second before he saw it was so plainly obvious as to who he was talking to so late into the night. "On the phone, huh? Who would you talk to for hours at a time, I wonder." Carl teased with a knowing smirk.

Hoodsey looked at him and frowned a little before sighing, "Cut it out, Carl. I just want to shut my eyes before we have to leave to get Blake." Hoodsey whined. "You can pick on me later…" He yawned once more. "…Just not right now."

After a minute or two, Carl went into the kitchen to make some toast for breakfast. He still had ten minutes before he had to leave. When he plopped the bread in the toaster he heard the front door open and shut. Curious, he peeked through the doorway to find Blake walking into the house.

"What are you doing here, Blake?" He asked, slightly surprised.

"Oh.. I just needed to leave the house early. You don't mind, do you?" He answered seeming a little skittish.

"No. Make yourself at home. We leave soon though." Carl said with a light shrug before disappearing in the kitchen to retrieve his toasted slices. "Would you like some tea?" He asked from the table.

"I've already had my fill, thank you." He heard Blake's soft voice say from the living room.

"Alright, Just give me a few minutes."

Carl devoured his food quickly and by the time he had finished, Blake and Hoodsey were chatting at the door, waiting to leave. He grabbed his bag and opened the door for everyone.

"Let's roll." He said after he locked up and got into the car.

* * *

Everything was great during the day. Hoodsey had woken up enough to focus and Blake was his normal self but when lunch period rolled around, it all took a downward slide. As they were all finishing their meal and bantering back and forth about the test they had all taken that day, Blake's phone started to vibrate on the table. Before he picked it up, he had a slight frown on his face as he noticed the caller ID. Hoosey gave Carl a questioning look only to receive a silent shrug for an answer.

"This is Blake Gripling." He greeted officially as he placed the phone to his ear. "Ah, Chris.. How may I help you?" Carl made eye contact with Blake as his frown grew and his face flushed considerably from its normal state. He remembered that Chris was the head of the construction team as Blake had explained weeks ago when he had first hired him and his team for the remodeling job. "How? How could that have possibly happened?" Carl had never seen Blake so mad in a very long time so this was kind of a shock as to how intimidating he seemed at this moment. "No.. My order was rather precise! …. Are you mad? You waited this long to inform me?! …No! Say no more. I will be there in a few hours, you may give me the full report when I arrive at the apartment. And I mean the _full report_. I will not accept any more problems slipping between the cracks." He angrily snapped his phone shut and got up from the table with his lips pursed tightly in aggravation. He looked at Carl, "We are going to have to cut the school day short, Carl. We have an emergency that requires our immediate attention." Carl furrowed his brows in slight confusion as he hurriedly grabbed his bag and got up from the table.

"Sorry Hoods, See you later okay?" Carl said as he lagged behind Blake as he hurried out of the lunch room doors like there was this imaginary rope connecting them together, dragging him behind with every step Blake made.

"Yeah, Go. Fill me in when you get back." Hoodsey said with an urgent wave of his hand. Carl rushed out of the lunch room to catch up with the fuming blond.

They didn't say a word once they had gotten out of the school campus. Actually, it was a good few miles of silence before Carl's curiosity got the best of him.

"Sooo… What kind of emergency are we looking at here? …. Shattered beam?…. Shorted out light?…. Someone crushed to death by a marble slab?" Carl questioned calmly as Blake stared out the passenger side window with his arms crossed tightly. He thought that last guess would get at least a small smile from him but Blake wasn't even cracking like he normally would. He just stared out the window without a blink. "Hey, seriously… what's going on?"

Blake took in a deep inhale and glanced at Carl before looking straight ahead of them, "It's just… always one thing after another. When one thing goes horribly wrong, another follows in suit." He explained very vaguely. Carl didn't know what that meant at all so all he could do was give him a very confused look as he drove out of the town limits.

"I think everything has been going along pretty well.. Construction jobs almost always have problems before being completed… It's really not that big of a deal." Carl said.

"It's _not just_ the construction… It's everything. My life. This always happens without fail! I cannot get a break no matter how hard I try to avoid it." Blake exclaimed. Carl glanced over at him, seeming even more confused. Blake obviously noticed this. He just sighed and rubbed his temple, "My father…. He saw us, Carl… Last night in the driveway… Now, I don't know what he saw exactly. I never gave him the chance to say…" Carl was shocked at this but it did explain why Blake made an appearance this morning. "Now our apartment is having problems… It's just too much…"

"Your father…" Carl repeated slowly as he felt a little bit of panic touch him. "Wait.. Is that why you showed up this morning?"

"I avoided him and Mother this morning, yes." Blake stated softly. "My point is, this always has a tendency to happen. It's rather nerve-wracking."

"Yeah, I can get how it would be. Are you okay? You know, with your dad potentially finding out about us?"

"I honestly don't know… I don't think he saw anything since he chose to lecture me about not having a large following. So senseless… The only possible thing he is worried about is my popularity status in school. Should I be insulted…? or concerned, rather?"

"I think that you should be thankful. I mean.. If that's what he chose to talk about then maybe he didn't see anything. You already know that you don't need a large following. You're smart enough to know that popularity isn't all that important." Carl explained calmly. "When it comes down to it, all you need are people who actually have your back."

"And I told him that. He just doesn't understand. I'm just hoping that whatever is going with our apartment, it doesn't set the date back for us. I don't know how much longer I can stand being around my parents."

Carl tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he allowed himself to absorb the possible scenarios. "Well… We will just cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm sure it isn't as big of a deal as you think."

When the two of them arrived at the building, they were met in the lobby by a rugged looking man with dark brown hair. He was about Carl's height and was wearing a denim shirt about two shades lighter than his jeans. He had slim framed glasses and was holding a clipboard filled to the brim with a thick pile of papers. Carl assumed that this was Chris.

"Mr. Gripling, I just have to apologize about not letting you know of the mixed orders sooner. I did tell my assistant to email you about it as soon as the supplies came in but he obviously didn't. I should have just done it myself." Chris said as soon as he approached them.

"Yes, well.. What's done is done." Blake said in a tight tone as he led the way to the elevator. Chris and Carl followed him and they were soon lifted up to the top floor where the apartment was. "Did you contact the company and let them know of this mishap?"

"Yes, but like I said earlier on the phone, they won't be able to send the right supplies for another three weeks at least. We did finish all the walls in the bathrooms and the office area is all set. It's just those supplies were for the bathroom tiles and the kitchen flooring and countertops. That's what were are waiting on."

"So everything else is on schedule then?" Blake questioned as they exited the elevator and walked into the apartment.

"Absolutely. Everything else is pretty much finished. We just need to lay down the carpets. You really didn't need to come all this way just for this. Sadly, there really isn't much to do other than wait."

"I needed to see for myself…" Blake said as he looked around the large living room area. The walls were all painted, it seems like it was just finished since the tarp was still on the ground and the fumes were heavy even with the windows opened. "Another three weeks, you said?"

"Yeah, at least. Could be longer. I really won't know until they tell me the stuff has been shipped out."

"How long will it take to finish when the supplies arrive?"

"Two to three days… maybe four depending on how early we start. Sadly, I believe that this place won't be ready to move into until August."

"Really?" Carl asked. Chris nodded but Blake held up a finger at him as he walked up to Carl.

"We shall see about that. I will see what I can do to move this back on track. I refuse to accept that we will have to live in a hotel when school commences." Blake looked at Chris with the most serious of expressions. "The dateline remains as it was until further notice… Understand?"

Chris looked a little surprised but he eventually nodded as Blake stared him down until he agreed, "Uh.. Yes.. Yeah, of course."

"Very good." Blake said with satisfaction evident in his voice. "Let's take our leave then.. These paint fumes are getting to me."

Carl and Blake left Chris in the lobby and silently stood by the car for a few minutes. It was pretty evident that they were a little worried about the status of their home.

"It's going to be okay." Carl finally said after minutes passed. "Everything is going to be okay."

"I am aware." Blake said with a long, drawn out sigh. Carl never liked seeing Blake so stressed out like he was right now. The only time he saw him this worked up was when he was frustrated at Carl for stealing his baby blanket back in the day. "I'm going to be up all night making calls, but eventually… It's all going to be back on track.. its just so hectic right now…"

"You can do the phone calls this weekend." Carl hurriedly dismissed. "How about for now, since we're here and school is done for the week, we take the evening and chill out. Just not think about anything that might cause stress. Hell, refuse to think at all." He lazily draped an arm over Blake's shoulders. "What do ya say, Blakey boy? Dinner. Walk through central park. Catch a Broadway show..."

Blake was silent for a second just looking at Carl, who was maintaining a hopeful expression. "Well… I would say that sounds ideal." Blake said softly with a light smile. "... But… I don't know, Carl."

"What's stopping us?" Carl questioned. He knew Blake needed a break or else he was going to panic and he didn't want to see him get to that point.

"To put it simply… my priorities. I need this remodel to go smoothly or else we are stuck in a corner, so to speak. I planned this all out very carefully, every move. I don't want us to wait for our apartment to get done just because someone with rocks in their head sent out the wrong order."

"Hey." Carl said softly and he turned to face him and gripped his shoulders as he could literally see the strain on Blake's face as he spoke. Blake looked at him and pursed his lips again, not out of anger but out of desperation. "Hey… Listen for a minute. You need to take a step back and sort out your thoughts, calmly. You can afford to take the evening to do that, trust me on this… Take the evening and have some much needed nonsensical, goof-offy fun… with me. We don't even have to go anywhere in particular. We could just spend the night in a hotel and order room service for all I care. You have been focusing on this for a year straight… Just take a break for just one night… Okay?"

Blake sighed once again but after he did he looked ten times calmer as he met Carl's eyes and just nodded slowly, "Alright… I'll make the reservations for dinner then."

* * *

Hoodsey was walking back home after school had been released for the day. Thank goodness it was Friday. Too bad his plans had been cancelled until further notice since Blake and Carl had to make a sudden trip up to New York for something urgent. All he had to look forward to was a much needed nap and maybe an email.

"Well Good afternoon there, _Rooobert_." Hoodsey was startled out of his walking pace by a sudden appearance by no one other than Brandon Higsby. After a sudden growth spurt back in sophomore year, He was now about an inch taller than him but he still managed to keep his stealthy, rogue-like skills as he often popped up out of nowhere like he did just now. "Why are you walking?"

"I felt like it." He responded after walking around the nuisance and continuing on his path home. After a few steps he noticed that Brandon was following him so he stopped in his tracks and turned to him with an unimpressed look on his face. "Do you mind, Higsby?"

"Of course I do!" Brandon piped up happily. "I wasn't trying to stop you from going home or anything, I was just thinking that you needed some company so here I am! No need to shy away from social opportunity." Hoodsey just shrugged a little bit and continued walking with Higsby at his side. They were silent for a good four seconds before Brandon broke it, "Are you planning on going to prom?"

"No. I have no real need to go. I've already experienced it." He answered before looking at him. "Are you?"

"Oh yes. I am not missing the biggest bash in the school year but we all know the real prom is during the after party." He said happily. "Did you ever experience that?"

"Nah… We were too tired to go to the after party so we just took a quiet walk around the lake for some peace and quiet before leaving to go home."

"That's sooo….. _boring_." He stated with his nose crinkled up in disgust.

"I've never been the partying type. So it didn't appeal to me… or my date."

"If you tried it once than maybe you would change your mind. It's pretty fun and don't take this the wrong way or anything but you look like you need to have some."

Hoodsey just rolled his eyes with no notice from his unwanted tag along. "I think I'm good. I have no interest in it, believe me."

"I know but I'm just saying that you should try it at least once… or twice… or maybe a dozen times." He said with a light giggle. "Sooo, There is all this talk about colleges recently and I was wondering which school you picked. I understand that you got accepted by some really fantastic schools."

"…Yeah. All the schools I applied for accepted me." He answered feeling a little embarrassed about that fact. "I have chosen Berkley though.."

He glanced at Bandon and saw a very odd gleam in his eyes at that moment before he grinned, "OH! What a coincidence! I'm going there too!"

At that moment, He felt his future become dull and surely he noticed he had a dumbfounded look compared to Brandon's clearly excited face as he rambled about the possibilities and they have totally stopped walking again. He kinda felt like he had been slapped out of the blue. The worst part about this is that he couldn't turn down the school anymore since he had accepted the spot weeks ago and fully enrolled for fall. He couldn't just take it back for no good reason. He really would have loved to not know this information. Maybe then, they would have just lived separate lives on campus. Not now, He _knew_ that Brandon would be right there next to him every step he took because that's what he does. This had to be a dream… or more like a nightmare and he would just wake up any minute. He closed his eyes for a second and reopened them just to see Brandon smiling at him. He looked ahead of them and they were just half a block to his house. "Uh.. Great! I-I'm going to go home. I have a ton of homework so I guess I'll see you later."

"Okay. Have a great evening, Rob." He said with a wiggle of his fingers as he crossed the street to continue on his path to his own home about five blocks away. Hoodsey cringed and shuddered as he pictured what was going to happen in the near future. Once that was out of his system, He hurried himself into his house and went straight to his room to check his emails.

* * *

"No, Seriously.. I think you shocked the hell out of him." Carl insisted to Blake as they took a walk around Central Park after they had finished their three course dinner. "At first sight, no one really expects you to sound so… _authoritative_."

Blake smiled a little and looked at the ground as they walked, "Looks can be deceiving. If I recall, I've been that way with you once or twice in the distant past."

"Yeah, but I never took you seriously." Carl dismissed bluntly but Blake shot him a light glare. "…Not that I don't now!" He recovered.

After a second Blake just smirked at him, "Ah, As a Gripling, I have to make myself clear when a crisis emerges so people will, in fact, take me seriously. Or else, I would just simply be a metaphorical doormat to any and all individuals I meet… I cannot have that happening."

Carl gave a short laugh, "You did that and then some."

"Well, of course. I _am_ paying him so he has much to lose if he doesn't obey my orders." Blake said as he held his head high.

"You sure did show him."

Blake chortled, "Thank you, but what you saw was nothing. I've been known to get rather intense when the situation goes out of my control. I mean it has already but it could have been much, much worse than it was."

"Does this mean you have calmed down a little?" Carl asked with a sly smirk.

"I suppose I have. Just a bit." Blake said as he thought about it for a minute. "But only because you were so very persistent."

"I'm glad I could be of assistance." Carl said humbly as he lavishly bowed to Blake. In response he just playfully hit Carl's shoulder.

Once Carl stood up straight, Blake stood in front of him with a smirk of his own and swiped a rouge piece of hair from Carl's forehead, "Yes, well… If you don't mind, I know one other thing you could _assist_ me with…"

"Oh really?" He responded with an arched eyebrow.

"Wow.." Carl muttered through his labored breath. He wiped his forehead before letting himself relax into the large mattress. "Twice in one week… The last time we had this type of opportunity was when your folks took that third honeymoon to Aspen last year." He turned and nuzzled his nose into the back of Blake's neck. "Be careful or else I will get used to this." He whispered.

Blake gave a short chuckle and turned to face Carl and he ran a hand through Carl's messy hair, "You will be able to do just that in a few months' time… Well.. Give a few days in between for rest, of course."

"I guess that's fair." Carl said with a sigh before giving Blake a short kiss before crawling out of the sheets and made his way into the bathroom of their hotel suite. He proceeded to start up the hot water in the over large shower. He stretched his limbs as he slowly inhaled the steam as it started to quickly fog up the room. Once he stepped into the hot water he was more relaxed than he had been all year and seriously, that was saying something. He soaked in the pouring water for a good ten minutes before he noticed the sound of a closing door.

"I just got off the phone with my personal stylist here in New York." He heard Blake's voice say from beyond the glass pane door before he opened the shower door himself and peeked through it. "His assistant will be here within the hour to drop off clean outfits for the both of us… May I join you?"

"Why, I would be insulted if you didn't, Blakey boy." Carl said in a light tone, this resulted in a small smirk from Blake before he stepped in. Carl reached over and turned on the shower head on the opposite side of the shower so they both could have hot water without shuffling around each other.

"Thank you."

"No problem. So what clothes am I going to be presented with? The last time you did this, you had me wear a dressy.. preppy get up." Carl mindlessly commented. Blake shot him an unimpressed glare almost like he had been insulted. "Not that it's bad or anything, I love that look on you." Carl said as he helped soak his partner's hair in the hot water. "It's just not me."

"Don't fret, Carl. I had made a rather detailed portfolio for you based on your personal.. rather casual style. I'm sure you will be pleased with the result since I had been more than specific with the style and color palette." He ran his delicate fingers over Carl's shoulders and chest before poking him in the bulk of his chest. "Just don't complain if it seems a little more stylish from your usual look… We are dealing with the more fashionable of brands. That is the reason of having a personal stylist after all."

Carl just rolled his eyes and smirked before washing off the soap he had lathered on, "All that matters is that the clothes are clean, I guess. I can't complain much since you are taking very good care of me."

"I shall say the same. You recognized how stressed I was and you took care of that fairly quickly… Thank you for talking me into this and forcing me to relax a little."

"It was nothing." Carl shrugged as he softly spread the soap over Blake's back while he was focusing on his hair washing ritual.

"Excuse me but I beg to differ on that notion." Blake said in a sharper tone as he glanced at Carl with a raised eyebrow. "It surely was not 'just nothing'. I am touched to know that you can recognize when I need to take a step back, I can only hope that I am able to do the same for you when the time comes."

"It's already been done, believe it or not. Many times actually. The fact is, we have known each other for most of our lives. It's pretty easy to notice when one of us is not really their normal selves." Carl proceeded to massage Blake's lean back with just enough pressure to demand those muscles to relax.

Blake released a lengthy sigh after he had rinsed his hair, "How long are you going to continue spoiling me, pray tell?"

"Let's see…" Carl said softly in mock-thought as he took down the removable shower head from his side and he rinsed off the soap from Blake's back. "I guess it depends on how long you would like me to stick around." Blake said nothing but he did turn around with a smile that made Carl melt inside and make his skin erupt in goosebumps all at the same time, leaving him dazed as he gazed into those crystal clear eyes only to be thrown into that familiar, other-worldly dimension as Blake placed a soft kiss on Carl's lips.


	8. Suspicions

**A/N 10/22/2016** : I updated the chapter because I accidentally left out an important passage! Please read it! (I worked really hard on it, I can't believe I left it out x_x Forgive me!

* * *

The next day, Carl and Blake woke up fully rejuvenated and kind of ready to go back home to their normal routines. Carl had been staring at his reflection for a good two minutes as he pondered his outfit that Blake had got for him. The shirt was a black silk button down paired with white trousers. It was a good thing that he had worn his black and white sneakers here. He had never thought that this was considered as casual. It definitely looked like he was some kind of low-key mobster.

"…Not bad…" Blake commented as he emerged from the bathroom, finished with his usual morning routine. He walked up to Carl and gave him a quick look over, his gaze lingering over his shoes. He placed a finger on his chin as he gathered this thoughts. "..Hmm… Maybe I should have ordered a new pair of shoes after all…"

Carl snorted, "I thought you liked these. You did pick them out."

"Yes, but with this outfit… ugh… such an eye sore."

"Are you kidding? The shoes are my favorite part of this entire thing." He muttered as he fiddled with his sleeve button.

Blake chuckled lightly, "Are you saying that this isn't casual enough for you, Carl?" He asked as he sat in the arm chair next to the mirror, gazing up at him with very apparent amusement.

"I just think I look like I'm on my way to one of your mother's charity events." He said in a joking tone as he unbuttoned the sleeves and started to carefully roll them up his arm.

"Oh, that is hardly the case." Blake said lightly. "If you were to appear at one her events, it would strictly be business attire."

He smirked as he felt ready for the drive home, "Well, now that we are up and dressed, how about we hit the road?"

"Alright." Blake said with a slow nod. "..But we have one more place to be before we leave the city."

"Where is that?" Carl asked seeming slightly confused.

Blake didn't answer, he just led the way out the door and checked them out of the hotel. Blake directed him to a four floor office building in Manhattan and met up with Chris in his own business office.

"Mr. Gripling, what could I do for you?" He asked as they were seated at his desk, which was loaded with blue prints of other projects he was working on.

"I just need to inform you on our current situation. I shall make this brief." Blake said as he took out a small notepad he had in the pocket of his blazer. "I had made a few calls to some of my connections and they got me in touch with the distributor I had told you to use. I had made it clear how important this project was and I insisted that they should push the order up to high priority. I am rather happy to say that the order should arrive within the week." He flipped a page in his notebook and pointed a note to himself. "Four days from today to be precise." Chris just stared at him for a few seconds with a hand on his chin and his eyebrows high on his forehead. When he gave no apparent response, Blake went on as he closed the notepad and put it back where it came from. "I will expect a call from you when the supplies arrive. I do in fact mean on the hour of its arrival. If I don't receive that call at that time, I shall reach you at the end of the day of its scheduled arrival and I find out you had gotten the order earlier, I will have no choice but to release you and your team and find someone else to finish the job. I just simply will not accept poor communication from your end, Mr. Penn... Shall I trust you understand these terms?" Carl tried to not react to Chris's expression of mild shock as he sat there.

"Yes. Of course." Chris said rather toneless but stood up and offered his hand to Blake. "You have my word."

"Indeed, I do." Blake said with a small smile and he too stood up and shook Chris's hand firmly. "I look forward to your phone call." Blake then turned to leave the office and Carl gave the man a small smile before following behind him.

"You.. uh… really stuck it to him, Blake." Carl said as they left the building and approached the car in the parking lot.

"Some people just need a firm hand at times." He stated as Carl unlocked the doors.

"A firm hand." Carl repeated. "You threatened to fire the man."

"I must have control over the situation and now I do. I'm fairly sure that he won't bother to let me down and lose the job over such a small thing." Blake explained as he got into the passenger seat.

"I would say so." Carl muttered as he also got into the car.

"Don't worry about it, Carl. It's just business." Blake said after a second. Carl just gave him a smile and started up the car.

* * *

"Wow… So that happened, huh?" Macie said with an apprehensive tone after Hoodsey explained what happened yesterday afternoon.

He gripped the phone a little tighter to his ear before answering simply, "Yep.. I know you don't know Brandon Higsby that much but… I don't know how I feel about having the guy on my tail night and day."

"Well, if I can recall… I know how he acts and he has a not-so-sparkly reputation."

"He hasn't done anything illegal in about a year or so.. Rumor has it, he went to a rehab facility after his parents witnessed him going through a bad trip in their backyard. That would explain his three month long disappearance at the beginning of the school year… Though by the way he was talking, I don't think he is totally sober… He just probably got smart about his use of.. whatever… he uses.." Hoodsey said as he shrugged to himself and he slouched down onto the floor of his upstairs hallway. "Who knows what kind of shenanigans he will get into when he will be so far away from his parental supervision. No doubt he will try to drag me into it. He's kind of a loner now a days. He tries to play it off but I know everyone around him tries really hard to avoid contact with him… It's kind of sad actually.."

"He did it to himself. He should have known how destructive his behaviors were. No one in their right mind wants to be around that type of drama." Macie reasoned. "Especially you. You are the most sensible person I know."

"Thanks." He said with a slight laugh feeling slightly taken aback by the sudden compliment. "But I don't know.. I feel kind of bad for him, you know? I kind of understand his desperation for a friend… but he has a habit of using his friends and stuff… Yeah, he does do this to himself… How am I supposed to keep him away though?"

"You could simply tell him… but if he ignores your warning and does something potentially destructive, you may need to get a restraining order."

Hoodsey cringed slightly, "That's kind of extreme… isn't it?"

"It all depends on how threatened you feel, Hoodsey… Maybe, if you're lucky… He may only be clinging onto you for security until he gets here and finds something that interests him. Then you won't need to worry about him. He isn't your responsibility after all."

"So true… I _really_ hope that's the case.." Hoodsey said with a distressed sigh.

"Don't worry so much… Guess what?"

"…What?"

"I finally finished my finals.. and I feel pretty good about it! I think I may have passed them all with flying colors, it's a good chance I could graduate at the top of my class at the rate I'm going… even though I still have another year to go before graduating with my bachelor's degree." She explained ending with the shallow, breathy giggle she did every so often. Hoodsey took no shame in cherishing it since he loved hearing it every time it happened, it brought an obvious smile to his face. Good thing no one was there to see it.

"I knew you could do it, Macie. You should totally tell me the results when they're released."

"I suspect that you'll get to see them. I'm having them mailed to my parent's house since I'm going to spend the summer at home." She said in a soft tone.

This was major news. She didn't even hint at the possibility of coming home for the summer since she usually opted to stay in California during that time. "W-Wow.. are you really coming home?"

"I decided to last minute.. My parent's offered me a job shadowing position. It's good experience for the future." She clarified. "But yeah. I'm coming home!"

It took a second to absorb this info but when he did, He silently celebrated to himself of course. He didn't have wait so long to be reunited with Macie after all.

* * *

About four hours of almost complete silence had passed as Carl drove into town, He was concerned about how Blake was handling this dilemma at home so, of course, when he drove into the large driveway in front of the Gripling residence he threw his car into park and took the keys out of the ignition. This action startled Blake a little and he gave him a slightly confused look.

"Whatever are you doing, Carl?" He asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "You're dropping me off."

"I was thinking… That we should quickly nip this crisis you're having in the bud before it gets out of hand." Carl said nonchalantly as he did the same and got out of the car, then quickly opening Blake's door for him.

It took Blake a second to get what Carl was insisting should happen but when he did get the idea he appeared frightened at the very thought of it. He stayed sitting in the car as Carl looked down at him with his arm resting on the opened car door. "Oh no we're not!" Blake said in a very disapproving tone before he reached over and pulled the car door shut with a heavy slam. Carl lost his balance for a second but he recovered his balance and sighed at Blake's sudden stubbornness before reaching to open the door once again but Blake had hit the lock tab when he saw him coming. After what Blake had handled in New York, Carl wasn't expecting this kind of childish behavior from him so he was slightly surprised as he glared at him through the car window. This didn't bother him. He found it a little amusing though as he walked over to the driver's side of the car and let himself in. Seconds passed as Carl gathered his thoughts.

"…I know that this might be a little scary.. but—" Carl started but was interrupted.

" _Scary?!_ " Blake asked in a hushed voice. "More like completely and utterly _terrifying_. Now isn't the time. So I suggest you get that silly idea out of your head, Carl.. because it just isn't going to happen. End of story."

"Listen. You aren't going to be living here for very much longer. So it may be best to just get it over with."

"Best for who? Best for you? Certainly not I, I assure you… You _may_ get to do what you please with your life, but that is not the case for _mine_. I thought you understood that…. Clearly, I was wrong." Blake said quickly as he unlocked his own door and stepped out of the car quickly. "Good day." He dismissed before shutting the car door and running into the house before Carl even had a chance to follow him. He just watched as Blake quietly closed the front door. Knowing he couldn't just go after him, Carl just released a slow sigh as he let his head rest on the steering wheel in front of him.

* * *

Blake did as much as he could to mask his presence in the house when he had walked through the door. After he took a few breaths to calm himself he looked out the window by the front door and watched as Carl drove off the property with pursed lips. He huffed to himself as he quietly started his climb up the tall staircase.

"Oh, Master Blake!" Winston's heavily accented voice rang through the foyer, making Blake jump like a frightened cat. "Why, I wasn't expecting you to show up without notice… Where have you been all this time, may I ask?"

Blake turned to see Winston standing outside the doorway of the dining hall, looking up at him with a joyous expression. "I had just been in New York seeing to an urgent matter in regards to the reconstruction of my property, Winston… I apologize if I had caused you any worry."

"Oh, no. You caused nothing of the sort." Winston said with a light chuckle. "I have learned that as long as you were with Master Carl, you would be perfectly well… I just assumed you two were together." He said before he took a good look at Blake, his smile faded just a little. "You are alright, yes?" He asked, sounding just a tad worried.

"Very much so." Blake said seriously. "Worry not, Winston…" He added before looking around his quiet surroundings, He was expecting to see his mother or father when they heard his voice. "Say… Are my parents possibly at the country club right now?"

"Oh yes, actually. They have been away all morning." Winston said with a nod.

"…Were they worried at all? ...about me, that is." Blake dared to ask.

Winston looked at him with a slight frown, understanding the type of answer Blake was seeking, "Well… No, not exactly. They had a short chat about your disappearance Friday night while coming back from a business dinner.. Your mother was slightly worried about your lack of presence, but you're father had said something about a mistake the contractor made and that you were probably seeing to it."

Blake stepped down from the staircase and looked up at Winston, obviously perplexed. "…Winston… How would my father have that type of knowledge?"

"I haven't the foggiest, sir…" He answered softly.

Blake sighed and stared at the wall next to them, "Drats…" He muttered to himself as he brought his hand to his chin in thought. His father was keeping tabs on him, he just knew it. If he had known what he was doing this weekend, Blake pondered over what else he could actually know about his other affairs as well… This was very troubling, indeed. "Thank you Winston.." Blake said as he turned to climb up the staircase again.

"Will you be needing anything?" Winston asked.

"Not at the moment.. Continue on as you were." Blake dismissed with a simple wave of his hand. He needed to try to get to the bottom of this tomfoolery once and for all.

* * *

Carl had been home for all of ten minutes before something in his room crackled loudly as he was thinking about the exchange he had with Blake earlier. He jumped at the sound as he was sitting at his computer desk. He turned himself around and waited for it once more. Sure enough, a few moments later he heard it again. The loud static crackle. He had an idea about what it was but he wasn't convinced. He walked over to his night stand and opened the drawer that held many things he hasn't touched in years. The crackle was definitely coming from here since it sounded out louder than it was. He pulled out his old walkie talkie and after a second it crackled loudly in his hand. He gave it an odd look before playing with the frequency button, listening to the waves before a loud annoyed voice of Blake Gripling rang out, "COME IN, CARL! …For heaven's sake.."

Carl furrowed his brow before pushing the button, "Blake?" He asked in confusion. "Why are you using this ancient technology?"

"I have a mission to give you. Meet me in my treehouse, ASAP. Oh, and bring your toolbox."

"What is this about?" Carl asked in amusement, thinking he was trying to play some sort of game with him.

"I shall brief you when you arrive. Over and out." The walkie talkie crackled and died out without any other explanation. Carl took a moment to rub his temple before grabbing his toolbox from his closet and rushing to his car. What the hell was Blake up to?

* * *

Blake just sat on the sofa in his treehouse waiting for Carl's arrival as he stared at his phone in his hands and glared at it. Who knows how his father got that info without his knowledge.. Bugs.. GPS tracker… Whatever it was he needed to find out. He wasn't going to just ignore this and pretend it didn't matter.

As he sat there, a thought just came to him… If his phone was indeed bugged, than what if there were other things bugged around him as well? Blake wasn't sure if it was just his heightened paranoia speaking but he was going to begin a search on his belongings right now! Blake hopped to his feet, abandoning his phone on the sofa, He started searching every nook and cranny from top to bottom. Behind his paintings, nothing unusual… inside/outside/ behind his mini fridge, nothing out of the ordinary… On/under his numerous shelves that held his replica ship models, nothing in the least…

"What are you doing?" Carl's voice pierced through his pin-pointed concentration. Blake jumped at the first decibel that rang out through the common area of the tree house, he ended up falling backwards off his step stool as he was searching his model ships for any irregularities. He did catch himself and recovered semi-gracefully. He looked at Carl who was standing at the coat rack, toolbox in hand. He was giving him a cautious yet slightly worried glance. "What is all this about, Blakey boy? You look like you just saw a ghost. You're as white as a sheet."

"Carl, I am pleased that you.. uh.."

"Came over? … 'Answered your proposal'?..." Carl asked as he walked over to the desk a few feet away from where he stood so he could put the toolbox down.

"Indeed." Blake said quietly as he looked around him still feeling eyes on him and/or ears listening.

"So..? are you going to answer my question or are we just going to stand around and do the hula?" Carl asked in a joking tone.

"What?" Blake asked out of slight confusion. "Oh, Right.. right." He said as he shook his head to himself as he hurried to pick up his phone from the sofa and he presented it to Carl without a word of explanation.

Carl just looked down at it and he rose and eyebrow to Blake, "…Is it.. broken?" He guessed. "Is that why you used the walkie talkie?"

"No, not quite.." Blake said carefully as his eyes darted around them. He placed his phone on top of the toolbox and grabbed Carl's shirt by the sleeve and dragged him to the end of the room he cleared. "Okay, listen carefully.." Blake started in a whisper. "I had heard from Winston that my father knew exactly where we were and what we were doing over there."

"So..?" Carl asked bluntly.

"SO… I never disclosed that information to anyone other than you." Blake tried to explain further in a sharp whisper.

"What are you trying to say? …. And why are you whispering? There is no one else here." Carl asked as he held his arms out to the empty room to prove that point.

"We don't know that for sure!" Blake said as he took Carl's arms and settled them back down. "I'm not entirely sure, but I believe my father bugged my phone… or put a tracker in it or both.. I do not know, but I want you to dissect my phone and see if there is anything.. abnormal."

"You think your father… bugged you?" Carl asked slowly as he looked at Blake, slightly taken aback by this accusation. "Couldn't he have just pulled your phone records?"

"No, That only tells you who called and when. He knew the reason… I just want to know how he knew because I never called any of them to let them know where I was and why… If this is true.. you do realize what this could possibly mean, right?" He asked Carl with fearful eyes.

Carl pursed his lips and looked at the wall for a minute, "Yeah. Okay… I guess I will go ahead and take apart your phone then.." He responded slowly, still unsure but he took a seat at the desk and put the phone off to the side. He then opened his toolbox and laid out a cloth on the desk and placed his magnifying goggles on his head before taking off the back of the phone. Blake looked over Carl's shoulder periodically, fiddling with his hands and his shirt, which was slightly unruly itself.

"Anything?" Blake asked after a minute or two of pacing behind Carl as he was now looking through the device's inner workings.

"Nothing out of the ordinary…" Carl muttered as he looked through each little part with his tweezers and holding them up to his goggles for further examination. Blake let out an impatient sigh and he looked over his shoulder again, seeing every little part on the mat arranged in an organized manner. "…If you are going to hover over me, at least don't sigh like that.. I have to concentrate."

"My apologies.." Blake muttered in a snippy tone as he crossed his arms across his chest and looked around the treehouse silently as he paced around for another few minutes. When he approached Carl again he tried to keep his nose out of his space. "…Anything?" He asked again.

"Yep!" Carl said in an upbeat tone as he held something in his tweezers that Blake could not see so he hurriedly walked over and tried to see what was in the tweezers' grasp.

"What? What is it?!" Blake asked.

"I would say… from my expertise anyway, It is the last shred of your sanity." Carl said as he held up the invisible object in Blake's face. "I suggest you put that somewhere safe and don't lose it again."

Blake gripped his arms and looked at Carl with the most unimpressed expression ever, "Carl, get serious. This is not a matter you should joking with!"

"I am _serious_ , but with you asking me every five minutes, I can't get much done. Go sit and calm down a little, okay?"

"Well, _excuse me_ for being a touch nervous." Blake said as he took a seat in the armchair behind Carl. "But if this ends up being true… I don't even know what would happen.. I imagine the things we have talked about on that phone and it just strikes fear right into my very soul…"

Carl silently rolled his eyes as he adjusted the focus on his goggles before picking up the tiny motherboard after disassembling the wiring that held it in place. He carefully lifted it out of the shell of the cell phone and looked at it closely before deeming it safe. Everything was in place. Had a little dust just to show the time it had been in Blake's possession, it had been untouched. Carl exhaled deeply before picking up the shell of the phone and adjusting the light on the desk so he could see inside it without shadows. The inside was clean but before Carl put it down, something glinted at him from inside it. Carl looked at it closer, adjusting the magnifying googles once again and there, right in the speaker, was a tiny little mechanism that wouldn't have been detected if it hadn't shone in the light.

"…I think you have a good reason now, Blake." Carl said seriously as he plucked the tiny object from its spot.

Blake looked at him and glared when Carl held out his tweezers again. It looked like there was nothing there, "Stop messing around, Carl."

"Blake. Honest. Come over here." Carl said seriously. Blake did as Carl said and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he could see the object in the tweezer's grasp. "It's so small that I almost overlooked it… From the looks of it… It hasn't been in there long.. It's pretty polished. So… it may not be that bad of a situation." Carl explained in a soft voice.

"Are you certain?" Blake asked after he stared at the tiny object. "…That it hasn't been in there long, I mean?"

Carl shrugged as he looked at it closely. "Not a speck of dust or any signs of wear, Looks brand new.. I would say it's been in there a week.. maybe a week and a half tops."

"I guess it's a good thing I kept my calls short recently then.." Blake muttered to himself as he placed a finger to his chin in thought. "Is there a way to check what it has recorded?"

"Hmm…" Carl hummed softly as he glared at the mechanism. "…I would need access to its selected home device.. I would assume it would be your father's computer… either at home or at his office…"

"…Drats.." Blake sighed deeply. "…Couldn't you hack it or something of the sort? You know bugs like you know the back of your hand."

"I only know the bugs that I built personally… I suppose I could take it home and try..? If that is what you want me to do.. or else I could destroy it or you could keep it as evidence."

"Well, try to get into its recorded files. Afterward… I believe I would like to keep it, but it will need to be hidden well.. We shall see when we get to that point." Blake said with a calm demeanor for once today. Carl nodded and took his smallest screw driver and twisted the only tiny screw that was under the object.

"That should turn it off for now until I know how work this thing properly.." He said to himself. He touched the bug and it felt cool to the touch so that was a good sign that it was not working at the moment. He put the tiny bug off to the side before putting the phone back together again.

"Thank you, Carl." Blake said in a soft voice. "I honestly don't know what I would do without you.. I mean.. I have my own knowledge of electronic devices, but I cannot do anything that you can. With proper respect, you are almost like a hacking genius when it comes to these things.."

Carl smiled as he worked. He really couldn't contain it when Blake laid it on this thick. It felt really good having Blake calm and not angry at him anymore. "As much as I enjoy your compliments.. you may be jumping to conclusions before I actually get into this thing." Carl said with a slight laugh.

"I have faith in you. Not that you need me to tell you that.." Blake laughed slightly. "No matter the outcome, you do your best. Whatever you can. It'll help me greatly."

Carl grinned a little as he assembled the last bit of the phone from memory. He shrugged. "If worst comes to worst… I'll hack your father's home computer." He joked.

"It may be difficult." Blake said seriously.

"I'm joking.." Carl muttered as he placed the battery in and but the backing on it. He stood up and held out the phone to Blake. He moved to grasp it but Carl pulled it away from his reach swiftly. "Are you still paranoid?" He asked seriously.

Blake looked at him and frowned a tiny bit, "…Why do you ask?"

"Well.. If my boyfriend is still on edge…" Carl started.

"Sh." Blake shushed abruptly. Carl gave him an odd look.

"You think he bugged the place, do you?"

"I can't be too careful." Blake muttered under his breath.

"Do you want me to help search? I am pretty sure that he wouldn't take it that far.. but if it would help ease your mind…"

"I would appreciate the help." Blake said heavily.

Carl swiftly leaned in and placed a solid peck on top of Blake's head before slipping his phone into his hands, "Your wish is my command." Carl joked as he walked off into the other half of the tree house to start his search. Blake watched as he walked off and glanced at his phone before placing it in his pocket with a deep sigh, hoping to calm his shot nerves for just a little bit. He continued his search where he left off upon Carl's arrival.


	9. Gravity

Carl yawned loudly at his computer screen as he has been trying to look at all the details of this bug since he brought it home and that was about eight hours ago and counting.. He had found out how to dissect the bug carefully without breaking the thing. He learned the in's and out's of the thing by taking it apart and putting it back together about twice. It was the only way he could focus on it.

"Whoever made this… did a horrible job and they should be fired." Carl said as he rubbed his eyes as fatigue was starting to take its toll. "…Terrible excuse of a mechanic… who uses plastic this thin..?" He sighed at the tiny machine on his desk. He wouldn't have minded if he cracked the outer shell of the thing if he was told to destroy it later.. but Nooooo… Blake had to keep it. When he got home, He had rummaged through his many unused cords he has horded over the years and found the one with the smallest input possible. Turns out it did fit and he was able to connect it to his computer through hardwire but it was indeed password protected. That only allowed three tries before kicking him off. He has been plugging and unplugging it for the last two hours. He almost chipped the outer shell by misjudging where his hand was going because he was growing tiresome. He stared at the ceiling for a good minute before he rubbed his hands on his face vigorously. "Wake up and focus, Carl..!" He said to himself before he unplugged and plugged in the bug once again for another try. The program log in screen popped up again and he sighed as he tried many combinations of things that the learned meant something to Prescott.

02BsG01cGCg32480… _PASSCODE INVALID_ … 400McgWINbsg800M…. _PASSCODE INVALID_ ….400m800mjail …. _PASSCODE INVALID_ ….

Carl snickered to himself as he wrote the last combo down in his lengthy list of passcode variations. That last one was a joke to himself considering the past. He looked over the list and sighed at it. It would be best if he just got a program that would do all of this guessing work for him… That's an idea. He unplugged the bug and hopped on the internet in an incognito window and he started searching until he reached the dark depths of the World Wide Web…. Bingo. There is such a program. Carl smirked at himself as he hit the download button and the computer scanned it for any impurities that would harm his computer. He sat back with a heavy sigh as he watched it run, internally praying for it to come up clean so he could download it and use it… The computer pinged lightly after about ten minutes of scanning. Carl had his hand over his tired eyes, he dared to look at the screen through his fingers to see the message from his elite virus scanner.

 _0 harmful viruses detected._

Thank the big man upstairs! Carl breathed a sigh of relief before he accepted the download. This job will now go a lot faster with this new, very handy hacking tool. Usually, Carl was a master at reading people and gaining possible passwords himself… but Prescott… he was a hard one to crack. He probably found an outsider computer geek to find him a suitable, undetectable password for him to use all his life.

 _DOWNLOAD COMPLETE._

"Alright.." He said under his breath as he scooted closer to the computer. He plugged in the bug once again and the familiar log in screen popped up instantly. "Let's see what you can do." He said to the screen as he activated the program. The cursor started fluttering through letters and numbers at a tremendous speed. One after the other, the passcode fell together in asterisks across the open bar. In a matter of seconds it stopped at the full passcode typed out, taking up all the space in the passcode bar provided. Out of curiousness, Carl highlighted the bundle of asterisks and an option came clear.

 _Show Passcode_

He clicked it, probably against his better judgement.

 **01101101 01101001 01101100 01101100 01101001 01101111 01101110 01110011**

This had to be a joke… Seriously. Carl stared at the numbers shown to him in slight disbelief before he had the sense to write it down at the bottom of his list. Maybe this was a fluke of the program..? He hit enter and he was expecting the same answer he had gotten the past hundred times. But… no..

 _Welcome._

He's serious. The bug's program revealed list of folders in the window. A pretty basic storage holding program. How in the hell does Prescott know binary code? Do all rich people secure their info with binary? All these questions rushed through his mind as he stared down at the collection of numbers he had written. All Carl could think of after he had translated it in his own mind was…

"How selfish can you get?" He questioned in a tone of deep disdain. He shook his head at the numbers before he drew a quick noticeable circle around the collection before he looked at the screen once again… At least he was in. That was all that mattered. Now… To find out what he collected and erase it all from existence.

* * *

Blake had calmed down a bit after Carl assisted him in doing a full sweep of his treehouse for bugs. They came up clean after inspecting every inch of the area and turned over all of his precious nick-knacks. He couldn't bring himself to leave the area after they secured it though. He didn't want to go inside that house after he had watched his parents stroll in hours ago. So he made up his mind. He pressed the button on his intercom, "Winston." He called out a little harsher than he thought it would.

"Yes, Master Blake?" Winston's voice came through the speaker clearly.

He cleared his throat before responding, "I have decided to stay in my treehouse for the night. I'm studying. Could you arrange the delivery of my dinner?"

"Of course, sir."

"And also, let my father know that I wish to not be disturbed tonight." He added in a hurry.

"Right away, sir."

"Good.." He said to himself as he approached his sofa, reaching under it and pulled out a slim glass bottle he had hid from himself months ago. When Carl went through his stash with him last year, he couldn't make himself part ways with this particular bottle of red wine having kept it for a couple years untouched… until now. He sighed at himself as he stared at it longingly for a long moment before he decided to walk himself to the small kitchen, pull out the cork, and poured himself a near full cup of wine in a water glass. Taking the cool glass in his hands he stared at its contents, having second thoughts about succumbing to the nagging need. The many memories of Carl scolding him… begging him… glaring at him came to the front of his mind. He took in a deep breath before raising the glass in front of him a little, "Well then… Cheers." He said to himself in a soft whisper before taking in an elegant sip. Again, he had to be the worst boyfriend ever.

* * *

Hoodsey sat at his computer searching through locations he thought would be good choices since they had to decide by Wednesday where to go on prom night. Of course he would love nothing more than to go to California and see Macie out of the blue but this was also a trip for Carl and Blake, not just him.

"Let's see here…" He muttered to himself as he started to scroll through the links the search engine gave him.

Many different links pointed him to the most obvious places like Florida, California, and New York City… these bored him a bit. Even Salem came up more than once and they've been there a thousand times already since they weren't that far away from it. It wasn't until several clicks later he found something not so popular but the more he looked into it he kind of liked the idea of it. He smiled to himself and slept on the concept before he decided to pick up the phone Sunday morning to call Carl.

"What's up Hoods? I'm kind of running a little late here." Carl said in a rushed tone.

"Late for what? It's Sunday." Hoodsey asked, confused.

"Well— _crap!_ —Blake is expecting me, something important." Carl said as he struggled, it sounded like he dropped the phone or something like that as he rushed around. In the background, he heard a bunch of rustling of papers or something.

"Well, I'll make this short.. As far as our trip, I would like to throw in Long Island." Hoodsey said as he looked at the screen of his computer.

"Long Island? Like in New York?" Carl asked. "Why?"

"There is plenty to do and it seems relaxing." He answered with a slight shrug.

Carl released a deep breath and laughed a little, "Okay, I'll keep it in mind. I gotta say though, I think you are turning into an old man before my eyes, Hoods."

"Whatever." Hoodsey said with a roll of his eyes and a small smirk. "Go do what you gotta do. If you want to hang out, you know where to find me."

"Yeah, 'Kay. Later, Hoods!"

"Bye."

Hoodsey hung up the phone before settling down to write Macie an email. He sat at the computer for a good long while trying to decide on what to say. It wasn't until twenty minutes of drawing a blank he got the best idea ever. He grinned at himself before he started typing rapidly.

* * *

Carl had been up all night listening to the numerous files on the bug and he now had a good chunk of his notebook filled with notes about the conversations. Thank goodness there wasn't anything too bad in it but there were definite hints to a relationship during some of the midnight phone calls between them. There was a good month's worth of conversations in the bug but they had now been permanently deleted. He made sure that none of them could be recovered. After he got off the phone with Hoodsey, he rushed out of the house and was now driving back to the Gripling property. If he knew Blake well enough, which he did, Blake would still be in the treehouse. So he never rang the doorbell. He just grabbed the things he brought with him and made a run for it towards his destination.

"Hey. Hey Blakey. I got into the bug and—" Carl said hurriedly as he tried to catch his breath once he got inside. He found Blake passed out on the sofa in yesterday's clothes. "Blake?" This was odd. Blake never really was one to sleep in this late. He walked up to the sleeping blonde and found an empty glass bottle tucked behind him. Carl's stomach dropped as he pulled it out and glanced at the label. He put the bottle down on the coffee table and sighed as he looked at Blake, he hadn't budged at all but his deep breathing was loud enough. Carl looked around and found at least two more empty bottles on top of the mini fridge. "For the love of… Blake! Hey Blake, get up." He said loudly at him as he felt his anger rise by the second. He put his notebook and things down next to the table and shook Blake roughly, carefully watching as he stirred a little. "Where did you get all these bottles, huh? I thought we cleaned them out." Carl asked loudly.

Blake winced deeply at him and shielded his eyes with his hand, ".. _Christ_ …" Blake hissed. "Carl, what are you doing here?" Blake asked in a raspy voice.

"Well, you told me to come over today if I got some info. So here I am. God.. Blake.. I thought we got rid of all of this! Where on earth did these come from?" Carl asked as he gestured towards the empty bottle closest to him. Blake winced again as he removed his hand from his eyes and slowly sat up holding his head. Carl examined his hungover partner and took notice of the bags under his eyes and his blotchy pale skin making him look completely washed out of any life he normally has. "You look horrible." He noted harshly.

"I can assure you that I feel ten times worse than I look.." Blake said painfully as he rubbed his hands through his already muddled hair.

Carl crossed his arms tightly in irritation, "Good." He said before rubbing his temple as he stared at him. He shook his head as he went and grabbed a cold bottle of water out of the mini fridge and handed it to Blake, who wouldn't meet his eyes.

Blake took the water and took a long gulp from it, "Thank you.. I know.. You're angry.." He said, completely defeated.

"You're damn right I'm angry." Carl expressed through clenched teeth. "You promised me you were done with the stuff, Blake… and you broke the promise.. again! Y'know, I'm starting to think you need some professional help here." Carl said heavily.

"I can see why you would think that." Blake said in a low tone. "But I can assure you, that was the last of what I had, Carl."

"I'm not believing you." Carl said clearly as he picked up his things from the ground and dropped them onto Blake's lap. "I got into the bug and I stayed up all night listening to the conversations that was saved on it. I took notes and I thought you would like to know what was recorded. The bug is in that box there." Carl rambled as Blake sleepily looked at the stuff that was dumped on him. "I deleted all the files so it's all cleaned out."

Blake looked up at him before looking down and opening the notebook, skimming through its contents. His eyebrows furrowed a little as his eyes settled on one thing. "Is that his password..?" Blake asked softly.

"The circled one, yeah. I found it odd that your father is familiar with binary code. Usually computer geniuses or intelligence agents use it.. not bank owners.. but I guess your father is _one_ in a _million_ , huh?" Carl teased lightly with a smirk.

Blake looked at Carl and made an unimpressed expression before rolling his eyes a little, "Very funny.." He muttered before turning the page in the notebook. "..And these are the notes you took..?"

"Yep. Goes on for about ten pages or so… I lost count. There was more in there than I thought there would be." Carl said as he sat on the arm of the sofa, examining his notes as Blake skimmed through them with pursed lips. "From what I gather, he recorded all of your conversations on weekdays between the times of twelve A.M. and eight P.M…"

"That's a wide time span.." Blake noted as he flipped through the pages. "You didn't find anything too… _telling_ … did you?"

"Not really.. I mean.. There are somethings that could be taken in that way but to a clueless listener, it all just sounds like harmless jokes. It's all included in there." Carl said with a sigh as he rolled his neck to crack it. "Oh, and I'm sorry but since I was doing the hacking job, I was tipped off to the 'day trip' you were planning the week before we start school."

Blake looked up at him and blinked before sighing and rubbing his eyes, "That's a shame.." He said through his tired sigh. "There goes the element of surprise then.. Anything else?"

"Yeah." Carl said as he reached for the small box that fell between Blake's knees. "Where do you want to hide this?"

Blake took in a deep breath and stared at the box for a moment before looking at him. "I guess I should just put it in my safe for now.." With a little bit of a balance problem, Blake made his way to his painting room and placed the bug inside his combination and key locked safe. "I wonder if my father will get angry once he figures out that the bug was hacked into…" He said softly as he locked up the safe.

"Only time will tell, but I think he will just pretend nothing happened for the sake of your mother finding out about this sin." Carl said thoughtfully.

"Yeah.. You're right."

"Naturally." Carl smirked as Blake slowly approached him and laid his forehead on his shoulder. Carl didn't do anything but look at him since he remembered that he was still very upset.

"…I am so sorry…" Blake said heavily before looking up to meet Carl's slightly colder gaze. "…I hope I didn't just ruin us with my relentless stupidity." Blake was never quick to use that type of word to describe himself so that was a slight shock.. but he was correct. He was very stupid to keep going back to the alcohol every time he is faced with any type of stress and it was killing them both.

"I did emphasize that I couldn't be with a liar all those months ago…" Carl said coolly but he also felt the pain of those words. He took in a deep breath and looked at Blake. He brought up a hand and swept a piece of hair away from Blake's eyes and felt that fear he was holding inside. "…One more chance, Blake. I _swear_ if you break my trust again, we're through until you clean yourself up. I refuse to share you with your vice." He said with stern stance. "Understand?"

"Yes." Blake said with an audible exhale of a held breath. "I understand. Thank you, Carl." He gripped Carl into a hug. He could feel the light shake of Blake's hands and they rested on his back and the way Blake's heart was hammering against his chest, the fear was evident.

Carl breathed deeply and wrapped his arms around his waist and just felt the need to comfort Blake with everything he had. "…I love you so much.." Carl said in a whisper as he rubbed Blake's lower back softly.

Blake tightened his hug, "I love you too, Carl."

* * *

Macie was surprised when she saw an email from Hoodsey show up in her inbox. With their now daily phone calls, it didn't seem needed to send emails anymore but she had to admit that it was very nice. She opened it as she was folding her laundry to pack into her suitcase for her departure tomorrow morning.

 _For you, I would gladly walk a mile, if that would give me a chance to see you smile._

 _I'd call you my friend, but that's a lie. You mean more to me, but I can't explain why._

 _For you are more precious to me than all of the world's gold, but I can't tell you that, how can I be that bold?_

 _If I spoke what is on my mind, would you accept me? Because without you I don't know where I would be._

 _You seem to be calm while I feel absolutely lost. I would like to be so bold but what would its future cost?_

 _Am I the only one faced with this choice? Be daring and risk losing you as a friend too? I can't risk that; I'd rather have that then lose everything. What should I do?_

 _-Burl aka Your Mystery Man_

Macie dropped the shirt she was folding when she read that name and she leaned towards the laptop to re-read the email and ensure that it came from Hoodsey's email address. Sure enough it did come from his address but why was it from Burl? From her vivid yet blurred memory of the man at the dance in middle school, that was the one and only time she had 'seen' Burl… and weather she liked to admit it or not, his influence affected her expectations in choosing boyfriends. He did set the bar very high with his gentlemanly ways and how he made her feel. She never really met a man that made her feel that way ever. The closest she had to it was when she dated Hoodsey… Wait… what in the world..? Macie seemed to have a sudden realization. Now that she thought about it, the blurry outline she remembered did look an awful lot like Hoodsey when he was much younger… How had this not clicked when they dated? As her head reeled, she was forced to sit down on her bed and she made a quick movement to grab her inhaler when her heart rate and breathing lost their sync. She took a shaky but deep puff of it and when she could focus she couldn't help but grin as her face filled with warmth at the memories that danced in her mind.

* * *

 **A/N:** I just want to thank everyone for their awesome reviews! And to answer Seahawk51: I've been pretty good, I finished school! So I'm going to try to write more of my fanfics with my newly acquired free time :) I just have to rip myself away from my personal projects long enough to write out and update chapters. Thanksgiving was hectic like it always should be but it was good nonetheless! I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving holiday and ate a wonderful meal! xoxoxo Love you all, Please don't be afraid to leave me a review to tell me what you think about my work!


	10. Hold Your Breath

The next week was a rush. Finals were starting and the mood around school had turned very bleak as everyone was focused on passing. Well… almost everyone. Never mind the jocks and cheerleaders, they were in a league of their own. After the day ended however, the summer sunlight revived their energy as everyone rushed out of the building wanting to get away from the harsh focus. Carl, Blake, and Hoodsey set off to go grab a bite to eat at a nearby 24-hour eatery set on discussing their plans for the prom weekend which was quickly approaching.

"I guess… I will just have a cheese burger and a pop." Carl said passively to the waiter after he had studied the menu.

"Same thing." Hoodsey added.

"Honestly… How could you two eat such a greasy pile of unidentified meat between two slabs of slightly stale bread… It's bound to give you heavy indigestion." Blake muttered as he held his attention on the menu for a minute more. Carl just rolled his eyes silently as Hoodsey cast a light glare his way. "I'll just have a salad with the vinaigrette dressing on the side, please. I also would like a glass of carbonated water, no ice."

The waiter held a slight look of contempt on Blake before he quickly adjusted his expression and nodded politely after he had collected the menus from them. "I'll get you your drinks and your meals will be right out as soon as possible." He said calmly before walking off.

"Where were we?" Blake asked out loud. "Oh, right. Carl had suggested Mexico and Hoodsey, you wish to visit Long Island. I have never actually visited Long Island myself… but I do know of a fantastic, private resort in Cancun. I am curious as to why you would wish to go to such a place, Hoodsey."

He just shrugged, "I looked it up and it seems modest, calm, and pleasant. It's not too far away from home so we don't need to dip into the money for travel. We can just take a nice road trip there. There are some nice places we could stay at right on the coast and there is a good amount of stuff to do. It was just an idea."

"It's not a bad idea. It's just when I think of Long Island I think of retired old folks sitting on the beach sipping tea or something." Carl said with light humor.

"That isn't exactly true…" Blake said seriously. "There are plenty of people our age but they just go to Manhattan for a good time. I don't blame you for wanting a peaceful trip after all the stress that senior year brings… and I don't mind toning it down a tad for a calm vacation. It sounds pretty nice actually… I've been to Mexico plenty of times but I wouldn't mind experiencing a new place. I don't get to do that often enough."

"So you're favoring a calm, quick getaway and not a fun, out-of-country experience?" Carl asked skeptically. "..I'm surrounded by teenage retirees."

"Well that's hardly fair…" Blake noted in a low tone. "Statistically, there are more retirees down in Mexico especially during the turn of the summer."

"Alright, Long Island it is." Carl said in surrender. "I guess it's only fair for Hoods to experience New York himself before driving out to Cali."

"I've been to New York before… Remember, eighth grade? We took that trip to New York City." Hoodsey pointed out. "It just seems like a nice idea to see a.. calmer side to New York, y'know?"

"I will make the arrangements. I'm sure I could find a decent place to stay in no time at all." Blake said as he wrote out a quick note on his notepad before stuffing it in his bag.

"Here we are. Two pops and a carbonated water, no ice." The waiter chirped as he transferred the drinks from the tray to the table. "Your meals will be out momentarily. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to just wave me over."

"Thank you very much, kind sir." Blake said as he placed his hands around the glass he was presented with. The waiter just gave them a slight nod before rushing to the door when more customers came in.

"Okay, but Blake.." Carl started as he tapped his finger on Blake's hand. "No work and worry about the apartment while we're there. It's a vacation. Even though we will be close by, I don't want you going over there after every phone call or email you receive from Chris."

Blake just stared at Carl calmly for a moment before he gave him a slight smile, "No need to worry yourself, Carl. I will be there in Long Island every minute with you two. No detours or side quests. Unless there is an urgent issue, of course. Which I highly doubt will transpire with it being so close to completion."

"Good." Carl said, satisfied with the response.

"When will your place be done anyway?" Hoodsey inquired.

"I have estimated it to be completed around the end June, early July timeframe." Blake explained before he took a delicate sip of his water.

"That's an improvement to the timeframe Chris gave us." Carl said slowly. "Actually. Isn't that your original estimate?"

"There is something you always have to remember, Carl." Blake said with ease. He smiled as Carl gave him a questioning look. "…I always get what I want."

Carl snorted a little as he cracked a smile as he leaned into his chair, "I see that the smug boy we have all grown to love has come back out to play."

Blake smirked lightly at the redhead across the table, "Well nothing is going to progress if you just wait for it to happen, Carl. If you want something to happen then you play the tender game of business and barter. Both of which I have an immense skill in."

"You didn't bribe the man, did you?" Carl asked in a joking manner.

Blake scoffed lightly as his eyes turned cold for a moment, "Please…" He said in mild disgust. "I am _not_ my father."

"And here are your meals!" The waiter said as he approached them with a filled tray, cutting the light fog of tension with his presence. He placed the plates in front of them and he smiled. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"No thanks. I think we are all set over here." Carl said politely.

The waiter gave him a nod, "Enjoy your meals." He said before he swiftly left them to tend to another group.

"Soo…" Hoodsey said lightly. "About the finals… How do you think you did on them?" He sipped his soda before eating a fry as Blake turned his attention to him and he looked at Carl for a second before smiling.

"Aced them. Naturally." Blake said as he picked up his fork.

"Classified." Carl added passively before he dressed his food with the mustard and hot sauce. "I'm not taking the chances of jinxing myself."

* * *

Macie drove from her university in California, as careful as ever of course, for half a week. At the moment she had booked a room in Dallas, Texas for the night before furthering her trip. She sat on her bed and contemplated her route that she had carefully created so she could hit all the spots she was aiming for. With a quarter of the U.S. behind her, she was nearing her first goal. Ginger who had just finished her finals when they had last spoke the day she left. She didn't tell her of the visit as she was hoping to surprise her best friend on her way home. Florida was a long way off the straight shot home but she was always worth the extra gas. She was also going to stop by Dodie's on the way up even though they haven't exactly spoken in a month or two. She actually lost count since their last conversation wasn't exactly memorable by any means. Just five minutes of useless chatter on Dodie's end and Macie listening to the latest gossip that she couldn't follow. The bad thing about being in different schools is that none of them were in the loop of their day to day lives. Hopefully the visit would bridge the gap some. It was a far reaching hope but a hope nonetheless.

Macie also created the extra stops to allow time to pass so Hoodsey could finish up his school and probably be there in time for his graduation from High School. She got butterflies in her stomach every time she thought about seeing him face to face for the first time in a long while of separation… Either that or it was a bout of indigestion from all the fast food she had been eating on the road recently, The bad thing about long road trips is that normal pre-packed foods never really held for very long. So she had to improvise when the sandwiches were eaten… She was pretty sure it was butterflies though. She had some antacids with her just in case though. Can never be too careful. She recited those words to Jenny when she watched Macie pack all her emergency medicines such as flu and cough syrup, Advil for headaches/ backaches/ any other kind of ache, her inhaler refills, and her bag of menthol cough drops. She received an amused eye roll from Jenny when she explained the stuff. She pretended to not see it, of course. After Jenny picked on Macie a little, they both said their goodbyes before she hopped a plane back to her own home in Oregon like she did every holiday.

Macie was pulled out of a daydream she had drifted off to by a ping on her laptop which was charging on the nightstand beside her. She looked at her watch and it was just about quarter after ten at night. Curious, she put the map down and grabbed her computer, placing it on her lap. She opened it to reveal her opened inbox, just as she left it only a single email unread from Hoodsey. She opened it with a hint of excitement since his last email was a few days ago.

 _Well, First round of finals is over and I am doing some last minute studying before I finish the last two classes I need to test in. The good news is I have an exemption in my morning final so I can sleep in if I need to! Thank god for exemptions, right? I also believe I did pretty well in my finals today. I can pass this year pretty well! It all counts to improve my final GPA in High School education, I'm pretty stoked to finally get out of mandatory education and on to bigger and better things in Berkley._

 _I can't wait to see you when you come home for the summer. I know I have been saying that a lot since you told me of your plans and everything but I can't help it. I am truly very excited to see you, for real this time. Maybe when you get here I can possibly treat you to dinner…? If you have plans with your parents I understand, I don't want to get in the way of your reunion. The offer will stand when you have a bit of free time to spare, so no rush on the decision, okay? You can tell me about your trip home then. Until that time comes, be safe on the road, alright? Feel free to call me just to let me know you're alive and well. I am studying for my US History final at the moment but I would be more than happy to take a break if you do decide to call! I'll have my cell phone near me. If I remember correctly, I gave you my new number last week. So, seriously, call whenever._

Macie smiled shamelessly before opening a hidden folder in her computer and as soon as the picture she received of Hoodsey, her heart skipped as she stared at his face before focusing on his bright eyes. She never took the time to focus on the picture for very long until now, when she was certainly alone in a room without worry of interruption. Her stomach fluttered and twisted in knots all at the same time. Why was she nervous? She had been around him since childhood. She was pretty fond of him, she knew that. Maybe it was the fact that they hadn't seen each other face to face for years.. The dry throat and sweaty palms were a bit much but she couldn't control it. She sighed lightly as she felt her chest tighten slightly, she mindlessly took a deep breath from her inhaler as she stared at the picture for a few moments longer before she went to work on composing her reply.

* * *

Hoodsey went to work on studying for his U.S. History final with the stack of flash cards he had created a month prior. He had to turn his computer off for the evening so he didn't have any temptations while cementing the info in his brain. Card after card he muttered to himself facts and dates he needed to know in order to pass this final with high grades. He had been doing this for a good two hours since he sent his email to Macie. He couldn't help but worry for her knowing she was on the road alone. He knew she was cautious but the fear was there since it was a long drive. She had assured him that she had scheduled breaks and nightly stays before she left the state. She had made the trip three or more times in the past, she knew her way well enough… but still, he worried. He was probably going to worry until he saw her in front of him safe and sound.

"Communist leader of Cuba who led a successful revolution in 1959. He declared Cuba would become a Communist state." He read to himself with a heavy sigh. He rubbed his eyes as he felt the tiredness poke at them as he searched his brain for the answer. He groaned softly before answering. "Fidel Castro. Duh." He opened his eyes and flipped the card and breathed a sigh of relief even though he knew the answer right off the bat. "Correct." The last card of the night read, "Victory in Europe Day." Hoodsey scratched his nose as he went through all the notable days he could remember. He always had trouble putting the acronyms with the actual dates themselves. "March.. no, May. 8th… 1955?" He peeked behind the card and met the answer with slight disappointment.. "How did I come up ten years in the future? 1945. 1945…. 1945." He repeated to himself with his eyes closed before taking in a deep breath. He exhaled, "May 8th, 1945. VE Day. Got it… I hope."

The sudden rhythmic vibration on his desk startled him out of his concentration, he wasn't sure if he could get used to having a portable phone with him. He picked it up and glanced at the caller ID on the front. He smiled a little before flipping the phone open. "Hello?"

"Quick, what happened during the Sacco and Vanzetti trail and why did they did not receive a fair trial?" Macie asked abruptly. "You have three seconds to answer. Three…. Two…"

"Uh… Well, they robbed a shop. They didn't get a fair trial because they were immigrants… Right?"

Macie let out a breathy giggle, "That would be the short answer. But yeah, more or less. Correct."

"Good thing this isn't a verbal exam." He said with a slight laugh as he leaned back into his chair after setting his cards to the side. "How is your road trip going?"

"It's going well. I drive for maybe eight to ten hours a day, effectively crossing one or two states. Good thing I don't have a time limit to travel by. I hate driving in the dark under stressful conditions. The trip will go by faster once I get out of Texas. How goes the studying? I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nope. Still awake. I just finished looking through my flash cards. I was just about to head to bed, so you called at a good time." He said heavily as he felt himself relax at the sound of her voice. "It's really good to hear you're okay. You're not in a shady motel or anything, are you?"

"No, don't worry. I only stay at one chain of hotels. It's decent and clean. No shady business here. Or at least from what I can tell, anyway." She assured calmly. "If I stay at a franchised hotel, it's easier to juggle my reservations."

"And you are still planning on visiting Ginger and Dodie on the way, right?"

"That is my plan. I hope it goes well."

"From what I heard from my mom, Dodie is staying at her residence dorm this summer. She says it's close to the summer camp she is going to be working at."

"When does she start working there?" Macie asked, sounding a little shocked.

"I think she said sometime in July." He answered calmly. "You have time before she starts. You plan on arriving in a week, right?"

He heard a slight sigh on her end, "A week... Maybe a week and a half, that's the plan." She said happily. She gave a nervous laugh. "I almost had a heart attack… I thought I would miss my chance to visit her."

"Nah." He said with a wave of his hand before he got up and started pulling his night clothes out of his dresser. "I'm pretty sure she would be going to parties or something until she has to work. What else do people do on their time off?"

"I'm sure you're right." She said in a stiff tone. "…Is it bad if I hope she doesn't do the partying thing while I'm there? That's selfish, right?"

Hoodsey furrowed his brows in thought for a moment. "Uhh… A little… but I can understand your stance. You don't like those things and you are going over there to visit her… It would actually be selfish of _her_ to not spend time with you just for the sake of a party…"

"Right… I guess I'll see what happens when I get there… I'm doing this because I don't want to lose touch with them.. We haven't actually spent time together since two summers ago…"

"I know. It will be fine, Macie…" He said in attempt to comfort her. He could tell she was worried by the sound of her voice.

"I believe you. I may just be overthinking it a little…" She said before she took a deep breath. "I always overthink things.."

"You'll have a great time, I know it." He said calmly before he smiled at the wall he was staring at. "…After that, you will have an even better time here."

She laughed a little, "Now that I can trust fully." He smiled wider in response to her sure tone. "I can't wait to see you again, Hoodsey."

He felt his cheeks burn slightly after she said that, He gave a light laugh. "Well.. I'm pretty sure you know where I stand there."

She laughed again and his heart skipped, "I think I know by now." She said softly. "On account of you reminding me in each one of your emails."

"What can I say? I'm excited to see you." He shrugged bashfully to himself.

* * *

The second round of finals started the next morning, the tension in the school was pretty thick as people shuffled slowly to their classes, ready to get them out of the way. Some people dreading the hours of staring at a packet of questions they possibly didn't know the answers to. There were even a couple people sitting in the hallways getting in some last minute studying as Carl and Blake stood at the lockers, observing their fellow classmates around them.

"So Hoodsey has an exemption this morning, what is it… Biology?" Blake asked mindlessly.

"Close, it's actually Chemistry II." Carl said calmly.

"Did you study last night for these last three exams?"

"A little bit here and there." Carl shrugged. "It's usually a bad outcome if I obsess and stress out over these things. I know the stuff so I'm not worried."

"Even British Literature?" Blake asked with a knowing smirk. "Zorski did kind of pick on you through that entire module."

"Only because she noticed I was reading a comic that one day at the beginning of the lesson. I _do_ know the material. She was just being a hard-ass… like usual." Carl muttered. "I mean the bell had just rung and I was finishing a page before putting it away."

Blake laughed a little bit and placed his hands on his hips as he squared off to Carl, "If you are going to waste my precious time, I will _not_ hesitate to waste yours." He said in mocking tone.

Carl grinned at Blake and shoved his shoulder a little. "Yeah, yeah. She hates me. I know."

"Please, she hates everyone." Blake said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm sure you will be pleased to get away from her after this final is all over and done with."

"I will be happy to step out of this school once and for all no matter who the teachers are. Love 'em, Hate 'em, whatever. The taste of freedom is teasing me." He looked at his watch and sighed. "Only four hours to wait."

"After this we have 'Prom' then graduation." Blake said right before the bell rang loudly through the halls. "I guess we shall knock these tests out quickly then." Blake walked past Carl and headed toward their classroom. Carl smirked and followed behind him before the rest of the class rushed inside after they both took their assigned seats.

"Alright, Hurry up. I know this is the last bit of school and all but that doesn't give you an excuse to dwaddle!" Zorski said roughly to the last few chattering groups of people slowly making their way into the classroom. "The bell rang, it's time to see what you all know." She said as she closed the door with a bundle of packets in her arm.

Carl, Blake, and Hoodsey found each other in the cafeteria after their second exam of the day. Hoodsey was in good spirits but he looked a bit tired and was drinking something from a tumbler.

"Just one more… One more then we are home-free…" Carl groaned as he sat lifelessly in his seat next to Blake who was patting his shoulder lightly.

"I do have to admit that focusing on one thing for forty-five minutes is rather draining." Blake sympathized after he ceased the comforting gesture.

"How did you guys do so far?" Hoodsey asked them. They both just looked up at him, silent for a moment.

Carl shrugged, "Can't complain. I knew the material. That is all I'm saying"

"I second that casual statement…" Blake said as he sat up straight and poised. "Did you happen to get any extra sleep before taking this last one?"

"Uh.. kinda… not really." Hoodsey confessed vaguely as he rubbed his arm nervously.

"If you didn't then how are you more awake than us?" Carl questioned him.

"Well… Whatever is in motion, stays in motion…" Hoodsey stammered a little.

Blake blinked at him and exchanged looks with Carl before turning back to him, "I am positive that even Isaac Newton needed to gain adequate sleep at some point." Blake said to Hoodsey as he took another sip from his lidded tumbler.

Carl snatched the tumbler from Hoodsey's grasp and took the lid off, getting the strongest smell of bitter coffee before Hoodsey took it back in a hurry. He just smirked at his best friend. "Woah… Seems like Hoods is getting a little _help_ staying in motion." He snickered to Blake.

"…Arabica or Colombian?" Blake asked with a similar smirk.

"Hoods, you never drank coffee before." Carl said with a hint of amusement.

"I only got four hours of sleep, give me a break." Hoodsey said with a huff.

"Up all night studying?" Blake asked.

"Nah, he has limits…" Carl said with a soft shake of his head. "You were up all night emailing Macie, weren't you?"

" _Noo!_.." Hoodsey said with a glare. "…Talking on the phone."

"Ah the freedom a simple cell phone gives a person." Carl teased. "That sure was a nice gift your parents gave you."

"I would just like to warn you to use it wisely." Blake added.

Hoodsey sighed and rolled his eyes as he frowned. He gripped his tumbler and his study materials, "Yeah, yeah. Keep teasing. I'm going to go over some dates I need to know before my History final." He dismissed roughly before he got up from the table. "See you guys on the other side." Carl and Blake smiled at each other as he walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

The last final flew by in a rush for Carl since it was in his easiest class, Statistics. Soon he was waiting by his car for Blake and Hoodsey, flipping his keys in his hand and watching the clouds float above him. The relief had washed over him and all he had to do now was wait out the rest of the week then school was over and he was free for the summer.

"Freedom!" Blake's voice pierced through Carl's peaceful meditation. He just smiled at the blond as he approached him with Hoodsey dragging his feet behind him.

"How about we go out for some ice cream to celebrate our newfound freedom?" Carl asked them as they met up with him.

"You guys can go ahead. I'm dying here.." Hoodsey said, clearly expressing his fatigue as he just got in the backseat of the car leaving the door wide open as he sat there with his eyes closed.

"Hm.." Blake said as he studied Hoodsey with an amused glance. "In comes the crash." He gave Carl a light smile before getting into the front passengers seat. Carl just smiled and shook his head as he closed Hoodsey's door before hopping in himself.

"I'll take you home, Hoods." Carl said as he started the car and pulled out of the parking spot.

"Yeah. Thanks." Hoodsey said softly from behind him.

He did just that after Blake informed Hoodsey about the misgivings of sleeping in the middle of the afternoon, which he was obviously not listening to. Carl and Blake ended up in the nearby park to grab their ice cream and go for a much needed walk in the sunshine as it spread its early summer heat.

"This is nice." Blake said softly as they walked. "The finals sure were draining."

"But now they are over. All we have to worry about is our moving situation." Carl replied before he bit into his cone.

"And even _that_ is a little while away."

Carl smiled a little, "Not that far away. A month… maybe month and a week."

"That's oddly specific." Blake said with a light laugh.

"A prediction." He smirked.

"Oh? The return of Carl, the great prophet, by any chance?" Blake asked.

Carl shrugged, "Possibly. No profit though, this one is a freebee, Gripling."

Blake chortled openly, "I shall count my lucky stars at once."

"As you should." Carl said confidently. This earned him a mildly displeased look from Blake. He chuckled slightly, "Annnd so should I, for other slightly related reasons." He smiled at Blake and he just stuck his nose up in the air.

"That was quite the save you attempted, Carl." Blake said in a low tone. "I regret to inform you that the save did not work. However, I will choose to 'let it go', as you may say."

"…Can I make up for it later?" Carl asked softly with a slight smirk.

Blake smirked and shook his head at him, "Not today, I'm afraid. Father has initiated this 'family bonding' segment into my day whenever he has the time to comply. Sadly, it is in effect until we leave for our trip."

"Bummer…" Carl sighed before finishing his cone and tossing the napkin into a bin as they passed it. "How are things at home anyway since I disabled that thing?"

"The situation is unpredictable.. The tension is high and I have been guarding my belongings with my life. I sincerely cannot wait until I get out of that place. I may just move out ahead of time. Even if that means me staying at a hotel for a while until our place is deemed livable."

"That's taking it a little far, isn't it?"

"Not in my books. I cannot fathom the thought of my father watching my every move nearly every waking moment. It would be best to get out when I am able to."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Carl asked slowly.

"Oh no.. I wouldn't dare take you away from your family. There is just so little time to spend with them before we are due to move, officially of course." Blake said in a rush.

"If you say so… But you know I will leave when you need me, right?"

"I appreciate the sentiment, Carl, but it is hardly necessary."

"Well… the offer stands."

Blake smiled as he tossed is napkin as well and they stopped walking the path as they had gone full circle around the park. "Speaking of which…" He said as he checked the time on his watch. He frowned a little at it. "I should make a timely appearance… I don't have any desire to participate in another argument with him."

"Well this was short lived…" Carl noted as he ran his hand through his hair. Blake gave him an apologetic look as Carl led the way back to the car.

"I'm really sorry, Carl… You know I would rather spend my afternoon with you rather then him.."

"It's not a problem, Blakey boy." Carl shrugged. "Believe it or not, I think you should try to spend the time you have with your family as well and we both know how I feel about your father at this point.. We will have all the time in the world once school starts up again."

"Is that really what you believe?" Blake asked seriously.

"Yeah, it is." Carl gave a nod before they both got into the car with a stiff silence between them.

They sat in semi-silence most of the way back to Protected Pines with the exception of the music playing on the radio. They entered the neighborhood when Blake finally spoke.

"….Thank you, Carl.. Truly." Blake said softly as he focused his eyes on his hands in his lap.

"What for?" Carl asked with a slight laugh.

"For everything.. Your thoughtfulness, mostly…" He said with a slight shrug. "I wasn't aware you had that opinion. I guess I just assumed you had the same view as I do…"

"Well.. To be fair, you never really asked."

"That's true." Blake said as he looked at Carl as they had stopped at a stop sign. "I guess… I will suck it up and attempt to get along with my parents until we leave. But if it goes south…"

"You will contact me first before you make any major decisions." Carl finished for him with a stern expression. Blake blinked at him before nodding silently. "Just give it a chance, Blake. Your folks may surprise you."

"I certainly hope so." Blake muttered as they rolled in through the gates of the Gripling residence.

* * *

Blake really wanted to go with the whole 'Optimistic thinking' thing but it was next to impossible when he thought about his distant parents trying to build bridges the late in his family life. When he was dropped off at home he just waved to Carl as he pulled out and left. It was worth the try though if it was for Carl. He could understand why the thought of leaving family while enduring a rocky home life with them would leave a bitter taste in his mouth. Carl was really close with his parents. Of course he would want Blake to salvage whatever was left in this life of his. He just wished for the drive to get him through it though as he walked inside the house with a frazzled mind he was trying to keep clear.

"Good afternoon, Master Blake." Winston greeted as he closed the door behind him. "Were your exams pleasant enough?"

"The exams went as expected, Winston. They were hardly a challenge at all." Blake said as he handed his leather carry bag to the maid who was waiting to take it since he arrived. "I do hope I am not too late for this _bonding_ my father insists on."

"Your father apologizes.. He had just been called on for an important meeting in the next town over. He will not be back until tomorrow evening." Winston said as he followed Blake into the library where his father had told him to meet him after the day at school was complete. Of course there wasn't anyone there. Blake rolled his eyes to himself as disappointment grew, replacing the annoyance he felt prior.

"And I will assume Mother is at the country club like she always seems to be when Father is away.. Of course." He muttered in a low tone. He took a deep breath and straightened his posture a touch as he turned to the butler behind him. "No matter.. would you care to have tea with me, Winston? I wouldn't want this time to go to waste."

Winston gave him a gentle smile, "Sounds lovely, I'll go fetch the tea. You go relax, I'm sure you had a long day."

"Time-consuming and wearing…" Blake stated pointedly as he sat himself on the armchair next to the fireplace. He placed his chin in his hand as he stared off to his right. Of course this would happen when he decides to give his father a chance. As far as he knew, his mother was probably about three glasses of champagne in and schmoozing with the other board members. Blake just couldn't help but feel a tad underwhelmed at this whole situation. No matter, It was just a waste of his time is all. It's a little annoying that his father didn't even try to contact him to tell him this information after demanding him to set the time aside for this reason in the first place. That was rather rude of him to just expect him to come home only to see these plans had been cancelled by word of Winston. His father's action never ceased to perplex him.

"Here we are, Master Blake." Winston announced as he walked in with a silver tray in his hands. He gave Blake a smile before setting the tray on the coffee table in front of him and serving him a cup. "I thought it would cheer you up if I brewed that special Oolong Tea you are fond of."

Blake could tell right away from the smell of it as he held the teacup and saucer in his hands. This made him smile a little in response. "Thank you." He said softly as Winston took a seat in the couch to his left. The butler only smiled at him politely in response. Silence fell upon them as Blake stared into the steaming cup after taking a small sip. It was wonderful but it didn't solve this growing distress in the least.

"Oh dear.. Did I not steep it long enough again?" Winston asked with concern etched on his face as he was observing Blake.

Blake blinked at him as he snapped out of his thoughts, "No, not at all. It's perfectly made as always. Do not fret." He said calmly. "I'm just.." He couldn't find the words to describe his mixed feelings about this whole situation with his parents. Winston waited for him to speak but Blake had trailed off into silence for a few moments. "Winston… May I ask you a rather serious question?"

"Of course, Master Blake. Anything."

Blake wasn't even sure which question he was going to ask so he just set his teacup down on the coffee table and served out a fresh cup for Winston as he thought about it. He held the teacup on the saucer to Winston, who took it with a grateful nod. "..Please, answer honestly… Am I wrong to feel the way I do about my Father?"

"What are these feelings in detail?" Winston asked calmly before he sipped the tea.

Blake just picked up his own teacup and sat back fully into the chair as he tried to sort out these emotions into words. "Well… For most of these four, maybe five years, I have become distant from him.. and recently I have just become angry.. and resentful towards him.. So much so that I can barely be in the same room with him for no more than an hour without an argument. He just makes me feel so _incompetent_ at times."

Winston gave a subtle sigh after Blake admitted these thoughts to him. "It's not wrong to feel this way at all. Let's look back for a moment… In your adolescence, your father was normally away on business so he hardly got the time to see you grow up and get to know your personality… When he did get the time to come home, it seems like he got himself into far too much trouble when he got arrested out of the blue, like he did. That would be enough to plant the seeds of distrust in anybody." Winston gave him a small sympathetic smile. "…You went through a major obstacle of poverty until he could build his wealth up back to how it was. Of course you would be resentful. Having everything taken from you so suddenly without warning.. but you, your sister, and mother got through it. Since he has been home, you two just don't know each other. You have grown up without him around. He does have the tendency to compare you to others or to himself so that just made you feel like you weren't living up to his expectations. To be honest, He has been trying to get to know you but you seemed to have burned that bridge a while into the past and you just refuse to allow him in. I have a good guess as to why, however… You have been maintaining this relationship with—"

"You're deductions are correct, more or less." Blake interrupted in a slightly hushed tone as he looked around the room a little, fearful about someone or some _thing_ listening in any further. "I cannot discuss that particular subject in this house, Winston." He warned.

Winston stared at him for a moment before setting his teacup down on the tray, "How about we go elsewhere." Winston suggested with a calm yet cheerful smile. "It has been a while since we took a drive."


	11. Pride

"That is simply dishonorable. Are you certain that it was your father who planted the recording device in your phone?" Winston asked as he sat in fog of shock after Blake told him the latest development between him and his father. Blake just nodded silently in response. They had rode in silence all the way to a park in the town of Frolic Ferns about thirty minutes away from Protected Pines. "This does explain an awful lot about your demeanor when your father is about. You are certain that you don't wish to tell your parents about your relationship with Master Carl?"

"It's out of the question." Blake said calmly as he folded his hands in his lap. "It seemed to be a sign to me when father did that article all those years ago when Carl and I had nearly just started. He mustn't know. At least, not until I am officially off to college where he can't really do anything about it. The worst he could do at that point is take me out of his will and revoke my inheritance."

"And suddenly, all becomes clear… That article was nothing to take to heart, Master Blake." Winston said heavily. "It was just a tool to solidify his relevance in the world of business and pop culture, post-prison. A project related to work, if you will. If he brings the world's view into his personal thoughts and opinions, clients may believe him to be relatable thus bringing in more business for the bank."

"But he wasn't fibbing about his perspective on the LGBT community…?" Blake asked in semi-confusion.

"I am not so sure." Winston said as he rubbed his chin in thought. "If he was aware that his son was a part of that particular population he may change his view. As far as he knows, He doesn't know a soul who is related to it."

"I highly doubt he could be that fluid." Blake said in a flat tone as he stared at the tree in front of them.

"I hope you know that your father has been trying to understand you since he came home. If he knew this side of you, than maybe he might acquire the tools to do so." Winston said as he placed a firm hand on Blake's shoulder. "If I may say and I don't mean any offense… Master Blake, you have gone from a jolly little boy to a cross, paranoid young man… I believe it would be good for you to shed a little light on this part of you that you have been keeping secret for far too long. Your parents are two very important beings in your life. It's time to let the secrets out."

Blake wasn't prepared to hear these things from his most trusted friend. The mere thought of telling his father made his skin crawl and made him sick to his stomach. If he couldn't bear the simple thought, how was he supposed to handle the actual feat?

"I understand that I have to tell them at some point.." Blake said as he tried to clear his head. "I just don't know how to do it just yet, Winston."

"Take the time you need to meditate on this… It is a major turning point in your life, after all." Winston said supportively. All Blake could do was nod. This was terribly true and he wasn't pleased with it one bit.

* * *

The rest of the week at school was just filled with watching movies in each class since there was nothing left to do but wait around. Yearbooks were given out at this time and students went around and compared photos and gaining signatures as they killed time in class.

"I am so glad we aren't plastered on each page like the more popular people are." Carl said to Blake as they sat in the back of the classroom as a movie adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet played on the television, but Blake was more interested in the pen he was flipping. "Good ol' Benny the quarterback is all over the place… Oh hey. I found a picture of you showing off your piece for the art show that happened last fall." Carl said as he held the book out to him but Blake was just watching the pen spin between his fingers. He frowned a little when he didn't give any response. "….You alright, Blakey boy?"

"Hm?" He asked as he snapped his attention to Carl after he snapped his fingers near his ear. "Oh, I'm just peachy."

"Are you sure? Because you have been out of it all morning." Carl stated as he gave him a worried look. "Did something happen with your dad again?"

"Not at all. Literally. He wasn't even home yesterday." Blake explained as he turned his eyes back to the pen before tucking it away in his shirt pocket where it came from.

"For real?"

"As real as real can get." Blake answered in a hollow tone. "Quite anticlimactic, if you ask me."

"Then what's going on with you? You're never this spacey."

"I suppose that I just have a lot on my mind at the moment." Blake said with a heavy sigh.

"Anything I can help you with?"

"It's nothing that you wouldn't know already." He muttered as he checked the time on his watch before examining his fingernails. "But having you nearby wouldn't hurt when he comes home tonight. Would you lend me a hand in planning the trip with me this afternoon?"

"In other words, hang around to give you the excuse of being too busy to seem approachable to him?" Carl asked, eyebrow raised. Blake didn't confirm or deny that statement, he just looked over at Carl with a straight face. He took in and released a deep breath as he closed and tucked away the yearbook as he mulled over the idea. "I don't know, Blake.. I'm still all for you potentially patching things up with him once and for all. I can't exactly act as a shield you can hide behind whenever something scares you.. That would basically be me enabling you. You have to face him sooner or later."

"I _will_ face him. I just need to have my head on straight when I do. Clear my thoughts, so to speak. I just need you until we leave tomorrow morning." Blake explained clearly. "After I return from our trip, I promise I will be able to talk to him. Just allow me this moment of adjustment I require, Carl. Please don't make me beg."

Carl stared at him for a minute as he went back and forth about the idea. Blake seemed anxious about the whole ordeal but he seemed like he had a plan, nonetheless. "As entertaining as that would be, I can't make you beg in the middle of homeroom. That would be too embarrassing… Alright, I'll help you 'plan the rest of the trip' after school." Carl said in flat defeat. "But only because you seem to have a legit plan." Blake gave him a quick nod right before the bell rang loudly through the school.

* * *

Hoodsey's phone rang loudly as he was walking to eat lunch in the court yard of the school, He was surprised enough that he jumped when it pierced through the sound of the excited crowd he was passing. It was strange that he was receiving a phone call during school hours. He stopped when he got outside and dug his phone out of his pocket.

"Hello?" He asked in a rush.

"Guess who made it to Florida?" Macie asked happily on the other end.

He exhaled a breath of relief, "Good.. You made it safely." He said as he walked on further with his bagged lunch since the cafeteria was closed for the rest of the school year. "Did you find Ginger yet?"

"Yeah!" She said with an excited giggle.

"Hey Hoodsey!" A familiar yet distant voice reached his ear. He smiled in response.

"Tell Ginger I said Hey back." He said with a chuckle as he took a seat before unpacking his lunch. Macie relayed the message before getting back to him. "So what do you girls have planned?"

"Lunch at a restaurant she wanted to take me to. Then spend the rest of the day at the beach to relax." She explained. Her voice sounded so happy, like she never left home to begin with. It made him feel so good to hear her this happy. "I left the motel in Mobile, Alabama before dawn broke and spent the entire morning driving down here."

"So you got to Mobile after leaving Texas. Such hustle." He said with a grin as he ate.

"Yeah, it didn't take too long after the morning traffic died down. I'm not sure how I survived after getting only three to four hours of sleep the night before. Should have hung up the phone with you much earlier, I hope you got through the rest of your exams alright."

"It was alright. Nothing I couldn't handle. You're on vacation right now, you shouldn't spend your time worrying about me." He said calmly. "Worry about the grade of SPF you should wear instead."

Macie laughed genuinely, "Alright. If you say so."

Hoodsey's smile maintained itself from the sound of her laughter, "I do. Don't forget to wear a hat or something."

"Oh I never forget such a thing. I'm always prepared. Though I wasn't anticipating the intense humidity…" She said before he heard her take a puff of her inhaler. "..And dust."

"I'm sure it's just the sand everywhere." He said as he looked up from his food and he locked eyes with Higsby through a window in the hallway, who was now approaching him in a rush. He frowned to himself and tried to make himself look busy with his food as Macie and Ginger were talking to each other for a moment.

"Yeah, it will take some getting used to.. but I won't be here for very long. Ginger has a thing to do tonight so that's when I will be shuffling on out. When is your graduation?"

"Hm?" He asked mindlessly as he didn't fully hear her over his rushing thoughts about ignoring Brandon, who has just burst through the double doors and running towards him. "Graduation? Oh, it's uh.. this coming Wednesday. At eleven in the morning. Why?"

"I was hoping I could have enough time to make it there to see you graduate!" Macie informed him. She told him she was playing with the idea of making it. "I guess I should tell you so you could set aside a ticket for me, maybe?"

"I can do that!" He said happily as Higsby sat himself across from him at the picnic table he resided. He pretended not to see him there as he smiled at Hoodsey in silence. "Yeah, that would be great if you could make it!"

"It would be amazing. I just found out that Ginger is flying into town for the ceremony as well and staying for a week or so after. So there wasn't much need to stay here long if she was going to be in town too."

"Well this is exciting." He smiled as he kept his head down. "Does Carl know?"

"Not that I know of. Ginger wants it to be a small surprise, though. So if you could keep it a secret…"

"Say no more. My lips are sealed." He said jokingly.

"Wonderful." Macie said. "…Is this it?" she asked in a hushed tone. "Oh, we're here already. Hey Hoodsey, I'll call you in the morning. It's lunch time."

It took a lot for Hoodsey to refrain from whining, "Really? Already?" He winced. "Do you have to?"

"Yeah, I just called to let you know I got here safely anyway. We can talk more tomorrow, I promise." She said softly. He heard faint, tiny squeaks in the background and a giggle that didn't belong to her. " _Ginger_.. Talk later, Hoodsey, okay?"

"Yeaah, okay. Stay safe down there, alright?"

"Always am!" She said with confidence. "Bye."

"Bye." He said after a few seconds. He softly clapped his phone shut before meeting the annoyance that was waiting for him. He looked up and saw Bandon smiling at him excitedly.

"Hello, Berkley Buddy!" Brandon said happily.

"Hey Higsby.. what's up?" He said in a low, uninterested tone.

Brandon bounced a little in his seat, "Oh nothing. Just waiting out the last few boring hours.. Where's Carl Foutley and Blake at?" He looked around the nearly empty court yard.

"No clue. Haven't seen them since this morning." Hoodsey said with a shrug before he continued eating his lunch. "Why?"

"I was just wondering. I don't usually see you alone so I thought I should ask."

Hoodsey grumbled in annoyance, "It's not like we're all joined at the hip or anything…" He wished they would just hurry and find him though.

"Nooo but…" He trailed off and sat silently for half a second. "Hey, who were you talking to?"

"None of your business, Higsby." Hoodsey said with a roll of his eyes.

"Girlfriend, maybe?" He prodded.

"None of your business." He repeated a little louder. "Is there something you wanted? Or are you just out to bug me?"

"Oooh.. _Someone is a Grumpy Gus_ ~…" Brandon sang annoyingly. "I guess I should have known better then to poke a bear when he's eating."

"Go take a hike, won't ya?" Hoodsey asked with a frown.

"How rude.." Brandon said before frowning himself. "Alright, I know when I'm not wanted." He huffed before getting up and walking away with his nose in the air.

Hoodsey just sighed and leaned his head into his hand. "If that were true, he wouldn't keep bugging me." He said to himself before biting into his sandwich. At least he was gone now, that was all that mattered.

* * *

Macie closed her phone and gave Ginger an unimpressed look as they were waiting for the hostess of the restaurant to come back to seat them. Ginger just gave her an innocent grin of her own.

"Did you really have to make loud kissing noises?" Macie asked her as she pocketed her phone.

Ginger laughed a little, "Oh come on, Mace. I was just teasing. Plus, I saw the way you looked when you read Hoodsey's email earlier in my room. It's obvious you have feelings for him still."

"Don't you think it's weird…?"

Ginger laughed again, "I got over it being weird a long time ago. Now that would be a question for Dodie to answer… if you can get her to talk long enough for you to ask, that is.. Are you _sure_ you want to go visit her?"

"Well, I can imagine she would get slightly jealous if I just went out my way to see only you and not her as well. I have to try. What harm could it do?"

"Other than you feeling ignored.. no harm what so ever." Ginger said in a passive aggressive tone. The hostess approached them as they were waiting in the lobby. She smiled at them and had them follow her to a booth next to a huge window that overlooked the ocean they were near. "I'm so happy they had my favorite booth open."

"Dodie actually ignored you?" Macie asked after she took in the sight for a moment.

"Pretty much. It was just like I was a temporary roommate when I visited her during first year, She didn't stay in her dorm for very long since her 'friends' kept her out a lot.. Never went back since so I can't really speak about how she is recently. I can't imagine her changing much though since we can't keep her on the phone for no more than five minutes."

"If that." Macie said anxiously. "I timed our last conversation and she talked to us for approximately three minutes and forty-seven seconds…"

"Where you and I talk for about two hours each phone call."

"Yeah. I know… So I have to see her now more than ever or else…"

"I don't know, Macie.. It kind of feels like our ties with Dodie are burdening her. Don't you feel it too?"

"I do. As scary as that is, I have to make sure." Macie shrugged slightly before looking at the menu.

"I guess it's best to do that. It'll be hard to stand if she isn't attentive, though… The gluten-free and vegan menu is on the back page there." Ginger said to her as she picked up her own menu.

* * *

Carl stared at the green land that outstretched in front of him and Blake as Prescott Gripling had taken his spot about ten feet away from the tenth hole flag, he was locating the best route to the hole. Blake didn't look at all amused. Prescott looked over his shoulder and smiled at them before he squared up to the ball, golf club in hand. Carl smiled back at him and gave him a slight nod. Blake just released a shallow sigh.

"This definitely didn't work out as planned." Carl said in a hushed tone towards Blake, who hadn't said a word since Prescott ambushed them when they walked through the front door.

"I was told specifically that he would be home _tonight_.. _not_ this afternoon." Blake responded through gritted teeth. "I am convinced that he planned this."

"Maybe…?" Carl said with uncertainty. He looked around the empty golf course they were smack dab in the middle of. "…I was pretty sure that I was banned from the country club."

"Not at all." Blake blinked at him. "Why would you think such a thing?"

Carl shrugged and tugged at the golf shirt he was given at the supply cabin, he didn't like this outfit at all. It actually fit him instead of having that little bit of bagginess he likes. He felt silly wearing this get-up. "That scheme I helped your mother with way back when. The backfire gave me that impression, I guess."

"Ah, yes. That train wreck of a conspiracy was quite the show." Blake recollected with a chuckle. "However.. You were never officially 'kicked out'. It was my mother's fault anyway." Prescott finally made his putt and sent it slowly but surely into the hole as Winston held the flag for him.

Carl and Blake applauded him and Winston retrieved the golf ball as Prescott made his way back to the cart where they were watching.

"Very well done, Prescott." Carl said cheerfully.

"Many thanks. Now that the warm up is over, we can get to the _real_ game." Prescott said with a grin as they all climbed into the golf cart.

"Father, are you certain that you haven't had enough for the night? Our guest here is looking a bit peckish and he isn't nearly skilled enough to withstand all eighteen rounds." Blake said with boredom evident in his drawl. Carl just gave him a slightly offended look but Blake didn't notice. "We have been out here for _hours_."

"I would say that is my fault." Carl said heavily but gave Prescott one of his best smiles. "The sand pits are murder, are they not?"

"And bless your soul for getting yourself out of each and every one of them. You are quite the persistent one, Carl. I can respect a man with as much determination as you have yourself." Prescott complimented. As oddly placed the compliment was, Carl took it as it was as he shrugged and smiled at Blake who was still seemingly indifferent. "I suppose you are correct, son." He said as he tapped his finger on his chin as Winston rushed into the cart to drive. "Winston, we are going to call it a night, here."

"As you wish, Sir." Winston replied cheerfully. "Where to next?"

"How about dinner at the pavilion?" Prescott asked.

"Carl hasn't the correct attire on hand for such a place, Father." Blake said rather toneless as he crossed his arms. "And as I said many times on the way here, we have something we need to plan for this weekend. After this tiny detour, we now have very little time to prepare as such."

"Oh, I didn't mean to intrude in any way. My apologies. Then we will be going home."

"Right away, Sir." Winston replied politely and they started rolling back through the green toward the club.

Carl raised an eyebrow at Blake, who was glaring the other way. He could practically feel the coldness emitting from him before he looked at Prescott who was sitting in a seat in front of him. Though he could only see the back of his head, he could sense the apprehension he was suppressing and suddenly Carl felt like the shield he was intended to be.

They got back to residence in a timely manner after Blake headed to route back to the limo in a rush, leaving no time for Prescott to bid his colleagues a good night. The ride was a quiet one and the atmosphere was an uncomfortable one. Especially for Carl since he hadn't spent much time with the both of them like this since sophomore year, he didn't understand the situation fully until now. It truly confused him how Blake can live in this type of atmosphere for so long.

Blake rushed into the house without waiting for Winston to get the door like he usually does. He and Carl had reached the staircase when Prescott did his best to halt them.

"Carl Foutley, I would like to extend an invitation—"

"I'm having dinner sent up to my quarters, Father. Lots of plans to talk through and so little time." Blake said to him with an empty glance. "I do hope you empathize."

"O-Oh, yes. Of course." Prescott said as he blinked from the bottom of the staircase. "I will get Carmen right on it."

"Much appreciated, Father." Blake said with a slight nod. He looked at Carl and gave him a smart smirk. "Onward we shall proceed, Carl."

"If you say so." Carl shrugged before following Blake to his room. Once Blake secured the door and flipped the lights, Carl rubbed his face as he felt himself shed the uncomfortable energy.

"I'm sure you know that this is very mild compared to how it is usually." Blake said with a sigh as he sat himself down on the couch that Carl was standing in front of.

"I'm not talking about this." Carl said as he leaned on the top of the armchair next to him. "Unless you really, really want to but you won't like what I have to say."

"You want me to tell my parents about us." Blake said calmly. Carl looked at him with slight shock and he was looking at his fingernails until he met his gaze. Blake smiled a little. "I have plans.. There isn't much of a doubt that it would defuse the negative energy this house is holding. I still have my reservations but it has to be done at some point."

"Since when did you come to that conclusion?" Carl asked cautiously.

"Yesterday evening." Blake said, still so calm. "I had a rather interesting conversation with Winston."

"Is that why you were so out of it today?" Carl asked as he sat on the other end of the couch.

"I suppose it did take up the majority of my attention today, precisely." Blake said as he lowered his guard. "I have to give them a chance to understand. If they don't.. Then that will be that and we can go on with our lives."

"This is a huge turnaround from what you believed a month ago. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Ready or not. It has to be done if I am to have any chance in reconnecting with my parents."

Carl looked at his hands as he noticed that they were fidgeting a bit. This was a nerve wracking decision and it was to be expected but this truly came out of nowhere for him. He was just now accepting the fact that Blake may never come clean but now he just flipped the script on him. "As great as this is… you definitely have a way of keeping me on my toes." He said slightly joking with a little bit of a nervous chuckle.

"I seem to be doing that often recently." Blake said in a lower tone but accompanied that statement with a small smirk. "I do hope that I have your support when the time calls for it?"

Carl smiled a little and hung his head a little as he thought about the possible outcomes this situation could bring. He could feel Blake's eyes on him as he waited for verbal confirmation from him. Carl took in a shallow breath and lifted his head to meet his unwavering yet hopeful gaze. "Well, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I declined? Of course you have my support, Blake. I'm always a phone call away if you ever need me." Carl said calmly as he placed a relaxed hand on Blake's tightly balled up fist. "Just say when and where and I'm there with finely tuned punctuality… Traffic permitting."

Blake released a slightly anxious laugh at the joke before suddenly springing at Carl with a tight hug in which he calmly reciprocated and allowed him to cling as he pat his hair comfortingly. "I wouldn't expect anything less." Blake said happily before softly nuzzling his neck.

* * *

After the day at the beach had come to a close with the sunset looming over them, Macie and Ginger arranged Macie's car for the trip she had ahead of her.

"Are you sure you don't want to bunk with me in my room?" Ginger asked once more after she closed the trunk of the car. "You know you are more than welcome to stay in the house for the night, my roommates are really nice."

"I know, I met them, remember?" Macie joked with a light laugh. "I would love to Ginge but I really should head to my hotel in Jacksonville before it gets too late. Lots of road to cover and so little time." She secured her bags in the backseat and closed the door to see Ginger with a sad smile. "Today was really fun but we will have more fun when we meet up at home. Okay?" She mirrored Ginger's smile before being captured in a tight hug.

"Alright. I just don't want to let you go after this short visit. It was too fun having you around, like old times, you know?"

"I know." Macie hugged her back just as tight before pulling away slightly. "Wish me luck?"

Ginger held her hands on Macie's shoulders and smiled a little brighter. "…Luck. If you have any problems call me, I will rent a car and give Dodie a stern talk if I need to."

Macie laughed a little, "I doubt it will get that bad. If it does then I will just be back home a little earlier than planned."

"See you at home."

"Be safe on the plane."

Ginger nodded before Macie rushed around and got into the driver's seat. Ginger met her as she had started up the car, Macie rolled the window down. "And good luck with Hoodsey as well. I know it's been a while but you two seem to have something good going."

Macie smiled and giggled a little, "Thanks. Hey, maybe something will happen for you too."

"Doubt it but I will keep my mind open."

"Nothing is impossible, Ginger." Macie said calmly before she rolled up her window and blasted the A/C before starting her drive down the road. She looked at her rear-view mirror to see Ginger standing there waving from the parking lot she just left. Macie couldn't help but smile excitedly when she thought about returning home.


	12. Vacation: Part One

**I decided to cut this chapter in half! It was going to be super long but alas, I thought it would get boring without the wait. Don't hate me too much! XoXo**

* * *

The next morning, Carl and Blake were at the Gripling residence packing up the car at the crack of dawn for their trip. Hoodsey was meeting them here soon with his own luggage but he assumed he didn't have to carry as much as Blake insisted on having himself. Carl couldn't believe how much he was fitting into his car as he placed the last of Blake's bags in the trunk after an hour of arranging and rearranging it all together until he got it right. The task was a fight but he accomplished it nonetheless. It's a good thing he was skilled in organized packing when it came to small spaces. Who said video games were a waste of time? Thank you, Tetris.

"Blake.." Carl huffed after he closed the trunk tightly. He wiped his forehead from the sweat he had accumulated. Blake looked at him from his spot on the porch as the maids brought the luggage racks back in the house. "You do know that we are only staying the _weekend_ , not a year, right?"

"Har-de-har-har." Blake drawled with a roll of his eyes as he shoved his phone into his pants pocket. "It does not hurt to be prepared when going to an unfamiliar place, Carl."

"I'm just saying." Carl said smoothly with a smirk as he leaned on his car when Blake came down to meet him there. "I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled out a kitchen sink from one of your name brand bags."

"And you are quite the comedian, good sir." Blake said humorously before tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, he gave him a semi-serious look. "Maybe you should be a professional instead of pursuing your business degree." He smirked and pat Carl on the chest lightly.

"Please, your laugh is the only one I need. Even if it's just a sarcastic one." Carl said softly with a smirk of his own before turning around when he heard the sound of the gate opening and tires rolling on the pavement. As soon as the car parked, Hoodsey jumped out with only one duffle bag in his hand. Carl smiled and waved at David Bishop as they were saying their goodbyes from the rolled down window. Mr. Bishop gave him a happy wave himself before following the circle driveway around to the exit gate. Hoodsey ran up to Carl and Blake with his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Top of the morning." Blake greeted kindly.

"I was half expecting JoJo to drop you off." Carl said as he watched the car leave the premises.

"Yeah, my dad was heading out to work so I just hitched a ride with him since my mom didn't have her coffee yet." Hoodsey shrugged as he smiled. "So are we all ready to get going?"

"Put your bag in the car and let's get a move on." Carl said as he pat the roof of his car with his hand before making his way around to the driver's side. "But-uh-don't open the trunk. I'm afraid if you do, Blake's luggage will fall out and attack you."

"Alright, I'll just put my bag in the seat next to me then." Hoodsey said with a laugh as everyone happily hopped into the car.

"Let's get this party started!" Carl said as he placed his sunglasses on as the morning light started to brighten up the sky. The radio blared as soon as the car started up and started moving on down the driveway, past the gate, and down the road towards their weekend getaway.

* * *

Macie, having just checked out of the hotel room she was staying in for the night, put her duffle bag in her backseat before staring up at the newly risen sun through her sunglasses. Hoodsey should be up and about by now considering his plans. She pulled out her phone and commanded the speed dial before listening to it ring as she sat in the driver's seat, enjoying the air conditioning blowing out the vents. The ringing continued, oddly enough, he always usually answered.

"You have reached the voicemail box of _Robert Bishop_. Please leave a message after the tone."

The beep rang through her ear a second later and she smiled a little at the tree she was parked in front of, "Hey you. I guess you've already started your trip. I just wanted to say be safe on the road and I will see you when you return home. Give me a call when or if you stop, I would love to hear your voice. I am just about to leave Florida and I should be somewhere near Myrtle Beach by lunch hour, if you would like to call back that would be the best time. I hope to hear from you soon… Safe travels." She said calmly before hanging up the phone and placing it in her cup holder. She rubbed her eyes behind her glasses and sighed a little as she felt herself wake up a little more before she started the car completely and left the parking lot to continue on her way to Pennsylvania.

* * *

"We don't really need a map, Blake." Carl said over the music on the radio. "I've made the trip to New York so many times, I could drive there in my sleep."

"Very funny." Blake muttered as he looked at the road map in his hands. "There is an exit off this highway leading to Long Island. If you miss it, we will have to drive several miles down until we get to the next one to turn around. Wasting gas isn't in the plans, I'm afraid."

"There are these things on the highway called 'road signs'. I think I can read them just fine." Carl said sarcastically, earning a silent glare from Blake.

Hoodsey sighed at the exchange, reached between them, and turned the music down several levels. "Aside from maps and road signs, It's past noon and I'm starved." He said to the two of them.

"Great idea, Hoods." Carl said.

"I suppose we could stop for lunch." Blake said with a shrug. "There is an exit just about half a mile up the road. We can find some place to eat in that town before continuing on."

"I'm thinking pizza." Hoodsey suggested. Blake wrinkled his nose a little at it as he stared at the map.

"I guess we could do that." Carl nodded before looking over at his navigator. "…Unless you have a better idea?"

"No, Pizza is fine. I was just thinking about how long it would take to make, receive, and eat and factoring that into the time I estimated our arrival." He said without a care.

"I see no problem with adding an hour or two to our road time." Carl laughed a little.

"We just need to get there before six. That is the cut off time for checking in with the owner of the house I rented for us."

"Jeeze, You rented a house?!" Hoodsey exclaimed from behind him. "What's wrong with a hotel or something?"

"The location wasn't appealing." Blake explained. "The house is on the coast and near all the best places for entertainment."

"You didn't go crazy and rent a huge house, right?" Hoodsey asked with a winded look.

Blake turned and rose an eyebrow at him with a serious look, "Knowing who I am and you ask that question?" He asked back all too seriously. Hoodsey just blinked at him before Blake face forward again. "It is a Victorian styled home about two thousand four hundred square feet, three bedrooms, three baths. Modern kitchen and living room. Large pool in the fenced in garden. Large enough to be comfortable, if you ask me."

"We have totally different definitions of the word 'comfortable'." Hoodsey said in slight shock as Carl laughed. Hoodsey looked at Carl as he expressed his amusement. "Did you already know about that?"

"There was no way to talk him out of it, Hoods." Carl answered. "He already booked it by the time I saw the paper in the planner. Just put your pride away, sit back, and enjoy the vacation."

"Logically speaking, you shouldn't really put too much care in what I planned for us since I paid for it anyway. I thought you would enjoy a taste of luxury every now and then so I didn't really give the house, or anything else for that matter, much thought."

"To be fair, we _did_ suggest to pay for stuff." Hoodsey sighed.

"And I kindly declined." Blake smiled a little at the map before he pointed out the nearest exit to Carl on the road. "Just enjoy yourself. That would be more than enough to make me happy with the trip." He turned his head and smiled at Hoodsey as Carl slowly merged into the exit off the highway.

It didn't take very long to find a pizzeria, being only a mile down the road of a busy shopping district. Thankfully it wasn't too busy with customers as they were seated after only a couple minutes of waiting.

Carl looked around at the surrounding of their table, the restaurant heavily decorated with many forms of New York artwork and memorabilia. He was pretty surprised at the detail that was put into this place. "Pretty nice place." He commented after a few minutes.

"I would say." Hoodsey muttered before looking at the menu in front of him. His eyebrows shot up in surprise when he saw a clipping from a newspaper showing a critique of the restaurant. "Pretty highly rated as well." He added after skimming the paragraph.

"Good." Blake smiled a little. "At least I can trust that the food is decent enough. Would most likely be worth the wait, should there be any."

"What do you guys think?" Carl asked openly as he skimmed the menu.

"Seeing that a whole pizza here is twelve slices, I don't think we can split that and finish it before leaving. I will opt out and order a single slice of the mozzarella and basil pizza." Blake said thoughtfully. "They make the mozzarella here themselves, should be interesting."

"I can agree with you. We definitely can't finish all twelve slices." Carl said with a snort. "I guess I can go with a slice of their Sicilian."

"The chicken buffalo pizza sounds good." Hoodsey muttered.

"Hello." A short brunette woman came up to their table with a charming, slightly lopsided smile. "My name is Gina and I will be your server." She introduced herself happily as she held her tray in front of her chest. "What can I get for your drinks?"

"Unsweetened tea, please." Blake said without looking up from his menu. Gina nodded and looked at Carl.

He just gave her a slight smile of his own, "Lemonade for me."

"Ditto." Hoodsey said with a nod.

Gina nodded at them, "I'll get them to you right away. Oh-do you have your orders ready or do you want me to get them after I get your drinks?"

"We're ready." Blake sighed as he placed his menu to the side. Gina lifted her tray and got her pen ready. They all relayed their orders as they watched her scribble on the bill pad she had on the tray.

"Alright!" She said cheerfully, seeming pleased with herself. "Your food will be right out." She rushed through the tables to take the order to the kitchen.

Carl let out a short snort as he watched her bump into a chair on the way there, "She's chipper."

"And slightly clumsy. I hope she doesn't drop our food on the way here." Blake muttered before pulling out his phone.

Hoodsey did the same thing, after a moment he clapped it shut and got up from his seat. "I'll be right back. If I'm not, come get me when the food arrives." He said before rushing out of the restaurant.

Carl blinked at Hoodsey as he watched him run to the car in the parking lot. "I'm guessing he missed a call from his chère. How sweet." Blake said with a small smirk.

"Or from his mom. Either or." Carl shrugged as he relaxed a bit and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Hm. Don't go falling asleep on me. You still have about two more hours to drive."

"This wouldn't be a problem if someone else had their license around here." Carl said with a chuckle.

"I have no need for a license." Blake said, toneless as he pressed the down arrow numerous times on his phone, checking emails most likely.

"Hoodsey is planning on getting his this summer." Carl noted.

Blake nodded, "He kind of needs one before heading to college. I'm sure he wants to drive there himself, which is a tad foolish if he doesn't have much driving experience."

Carl stared at the high ceiling above them, "I'm sure his parents will make him drive them everywhere for that experience."

"Alright, Two lemonades and an unsweet tea!" She recited as she placed the drinks on the table. "Is there anything else I can get for you while you wait on your food?"

Blake had already sipped his tea, "Yeah, Sorry, but this is hardly strong enough." He said to her.

"Oh-Darn it.. _Heather!_ " She yelled to the side of the building. "I'm so sorry about that. I'll get you another one." She took the glass from Blake and rushed to the bar on the other side of the restaurant. Carl casually watched her stomp off to the bar ahead of them. When she disappeared, Blake stole a deep sip from Carl's drink.

"Hey!" Carl barked at the action as he saw nearly a quarter of his lemonade was gone.

"I needed something to take that horrid taste out my mouth." He justified. "Your fault for not watching your drink."

Carl glared at him slightly as he guarded his drink, "Sorry, but I've never seen a server that expressive before."

Blake looked over at the bar where the server disappeared to and furrowed his brows slightly for a second in thought. "…Must be a recent addition to the staff. I would think that the job would slowly eat away at your soul, I can't imagine having to deal with people on a daily basis." Blake muttered before he clapped his phone shut and placed it on the table.

Carl just chuckled a little and poked Blake's nose, "Just face it, you can't imagine having a job, period."

Blake's cheeks flared up slightly at that remark, "You're so irrepressible." He mumbled as he held in this slight feeling of offense.

Carl smirked, "So you've said before."

Blake flipped his phone open again, looking for a distraction. "The lemonade is far too sweet. I suspect it came from a carton."

* * *

Hoodsey leaned on the trunk of Carl's car as he held his phone to his ear as it rang dully. He still held the smile he was granted when he listened to Macie's message. He hoped it wasn't too late for her as the third ring buzzed loudly.

"Hey!" Macie greeted. "I was just about to get back on the road, perfect timing as usual."

"I try my best." He said with slight amusement. "How far did you get?"

"About two miles past Myrtle Beach. How about you? How is your trip going so far?"

"We are a little more than half way to our destination. The trip is surprisingly annoying, Carl and Blake have been bickering most of the time. I wish I heard the phone ring this morning, Carl insisted on having the radio volume up all the way."

"I had no problem with leaving you a message. Though I now worry for your hearing, if that was the case. High decibels aren't good for you for any amount of time."

"My ear drums will be fine. Carl always likes his music loud. I kinda got used to it ages ago." He laughed slightly.

"I don't get how a person can concentrate with such distractions." She sighed.

Hoodsey smirked at the word 'distractions' since there was more than just the music that often held his focus and it was the wealthy blond with the map. If anything, the music mellowed Carl out quite a bit as he was holding his tongue most of the time. Outside of the slight annoyance Carl obviously harbored, there was also major tension and Hoodsey often felt that he was intruding even though the two of them never uttered a single affectionate word the entire time they were on the road. "Ah, don't worry about him much. Carl is obviously one of a kind."

"I remember." She giggled openly. "I guess he has his own way of doing things."

"You have no idea."

"I can't even imagine."

"Please, don't stress yourself trying to figure him out. It took me years to even grasp it." He joked, which made her laugh more and that brought a smile to his face with no effort needed.

"You're the expert, being his best friend and all. I will heed your warning and not worry. I have a different thing to worry about right now, anyway…"

His smile fell slightly at the change of her tone. "Yeah? What would that be?"

"Specifically? Your sister."

"Did something happen?" He asked seriously with a scratch to his head.

"Hmm.. Not yet." She said cryptically. "I heard from Ginger that she is not much of a host. I could tell that she was otherwise occupied whenever I talked to her, I think I expected as much before even starting the trip."

"Is Dodie shafting you guys or something?"

"It _feels_ like it, but I don't think she is doing it on purpose, you know?"

He couldn't really relate to that problem but he felt a little bit of secondhand guilt, "I guess… She has been talking about her sorority a lot recently whenever she talks to me. All the parties and events she is a part of, she did recently move out of her dorm into a sorority house as soon as a room was offered to her. I'm really sorry that she hasn't been giving you and Ginger the same attention she used to."

"Oh, Hoodsey.. It's not your fault. You don't need to apologize for anything." She said quickly. "I'm just a little anxious about the visit. I don't know what to expect."

"If she gives you any problems—"

"I will just be home a little sooner than expected." She said calmly. He just tilted his head as he tried to figure out Dodie's perspective in this, only to come up empty as a pause fell over the exchange. "So.. What are your plans when you get to New York?"

"I wish I knew. Blake has the entire thing planned out but I haven't seen his list yet."

"Would be a good thing to read as you wait during the rest of your time on the road." She said with certainty.

He shrugged and smiled a little to himself, "I think I would rather be surprised at this point.. I just found out Blake rented out a three bedroom beach house. I don't think I can handle much more information at this point." He joked.

"Wow.. Well, that's nice of him."

"From the sounds of it, the house is huge or in his words, big enough to be comfortable."

"I wouldn't really expect any less from a Gripling, Hoodsey. The last I heard from Ginger, Courtney is living the best life in a half mansion in Europe somewhere." She said with a slight laugh. "But listen, you can give me the full details when you settle in. I'm sure you're hungry."

"Starved. But if I can talk to you, it's worth the wait."

"You are too sweet for your own good sometimes." She said with a breathy giggle, soon followed by a puff from her inhaler.

"Promise to call after you stop driving for the night?"

"I always do. Tonight won't be any different, I'm sure."

"Just making sure. Drive safely."

"You stay safe as well." She said softly. "Bye, bye."

Hoodsey smiled a little to himself, "Bye." He stayed on the phone until he heard the line go dead from her end before clapping his own phone shut and rushing back into the restaurant.

* * *

"I still can't believe you didn't come get me when the food got to the table." Hoodsey complained once again as they skillfully passed a large moving truck before taking off on the exit towards their destination. "It's like.. pure betrayal!"

"I couldn't dare cut your call short." Carl said with a grin. "I believe I did you a favor."

"The favor of watered down lemonade and ice cold pizza slices? Yeah, thanks a lot." He rolled his eyes at the driver before settling his gaze outside the window towards the rushing scenery.

"Carl! Stop driving like a maniac! You nearly gave me heart attack with that move!" Blake yelled as he held his grip on the handle above his head. "Okay… Again, it was only at our table for about ten minutes _at most_." Blake assured Hoodsey for the fifth time since the event. "If the food was cold, that would be news to me since there was steam present over your plate the entire time. Take a left here." Carl complied and turned left off onto a main road that led the way through town. "You were clearly enjoying your conversation with Ms. Lightfoot."

"Yeah.. I was." Hoodsey muttered as he took in their surroundings.

"Then there is no harm in it." Carl said happily. "How much longer until we get to the house?"

"Approximately eighteen minutes if the traffic continues as it is." Blake estimated as he looked at the map. "There is going to be a right turn up ahead in about two miles."

"See, nothing to worry about. We got here in plenty of time with two hours to spare."

"Well please excuse my need to be punctual." Blake said with a small smile.

They did arrive at the house on the beach in optimal time after checking in with the owner that lived in town. She emphasized that the house was not meant for partying after going over the rules with the three of them. After pulling into the large driveway, Carl and Hoodsey just stood at the white gate looking up at the house and its surrounding gardens with slight looks of shock.

"I would say that the gardens look a lot lusher in person than in the photos…" Blake pointed out with approval before taking the key in his hand and walking up the long pathway to the front door and letting himself in like it was nothing. Carl shook himself out of his daze before following behind and pulling Hoodsey with him. By the time they had went through the door, Blake had located a luggage rack and rolled it up to Carl with a smile. "You don't mind, do you?" He asked Carl softly.

He just snorted and smiled before taking the rack from him and going right back out the door to fetch Blake's bags. Hoodsey, on the other hand, already had his bag slung over his shoulder as he stepped out of the spacious foyer and into the living room to the right of him. The kitchen opened up into the foyer to his left and the living room extended out to his right with the staircase right in front of him. "Much smaller than what I am used to but it'll do." Blake said with a careless sigh before traipsing up the stair case to examine the bedrooms.

Hoodsey just looked at him like he was nuts but Blake paid no mind to him as he was looking at his phone in his hand as he walked by him. "It'll do, alright.." He muttered to himself as he wandered into the comfortably furnished living room. Upon a closer look, the living room was lined with all the latest gaming consoles in the entertainment center with the overlarge television. Thousands of dollars right in that area of the room. He was blown away as he walked around and spotted the French doors that opened up into the backyard as it displayed the private pool amongst the shrubs and herb garden. He couldn't possibly take all that in from one glance. He was certain that the pool was much larger from what he could see from there.

The echo of the front door closing harped through the first level of the house followed by the sound of the squeaky wheels from the luggage rack. Hoodsey made his way to meet Carl in the foyer.

"Good news," Carl started as he sighed deeply, locking the door behind him as he saw Hoodsey. "Blake's bags didn't avalanche out of the trunk." He laughed a little at himself as he pushed the rack to the fancy metal frame next to the staircase.

"Also more good news," Blake's voice interjected from the top of the stairs where he was rushing down excitedly, meeting the two at the bottom as they looked at him with interest. Blake cleared his throat and folded his hands behind his back as he stood straight and grinned at them. "We have plans tonight, Gents. Our driver will be here in a half an hour."

"Driver?" Carl laughed. "Wouldn't that be me?"

"Not this time. You drove us here by yourself. Give your eyes a rest from staring at the road." Blake beamed at him. "I suggest we should wash up and change into something more appropriate for this outing."

"What would be considered appropriate, exactly?" Hoodsey asked wearily. Blake just smiled at him brightly.

* * *

"Here we are, gentlemen." Miguel, the driver Blake called, said to the trio as they stopped in front of a building with a massive crowd in front of it. They all stepped out of the car.

"Thank you, fine sir. We should be ready to go back to the house in approximately three hours from now." Blake said him from the open door.

"I will be right here when you come out." Miguel said with a kind smile and a nod.

Carl and Hoodsey looked up at the massive sign above their heads as it was lit up brightly. Hoodsey grimaced at the title that was shown to them as he tugged on his tie.

"I can't believe that you took us to see CATS…" He said completely toneless to Blake as he joined them on the massive sidewalk.

"Well, it has been about five years since they took the show off Broadway and this is the last showing of the year for god knows how long. I am not missing the opportunity to see it." Blake said with a calm smile. "It's actually pretty good, contrary to what the majority of the male population believes." Blake saw from the corner of his eye, Carl and Hoodsey exchanging unhappy looks. He just rolled his eyes and looked at them sharply. "It has many different styles of music and dance so I am pretty sure each of you would enjoy maybe one part of the show."

"You wanna bet?" Hoodsey said under his breath and Carl chuckled a little at the statement, but Blake heard it loud and clear.

"I would certainly love to." He smirked at the pair with confidence who looked at him with slightly shocked expressions when he turned to look at them. "What would you like to wager?" Carl and Hoodsey both glanced at each other before blinking at Blake in silence. Blake just smirked at them even more with a slight huff. "Well, you can't just propose a bet without anything to wager against it. This isn't our first rodeo, ol' chaps. Come on, let me hear it."

"Alright." Carl said as he stepped up to Blake with a smirk of his own. "On edge of the beach, there is a cave I saw on the way to the house. If we win and don't find any of the show interesting at all, then we will take a day, drop your preplanned outings, and explore said cave."

A cave? Blake felt his stomach knot up at the thought of being inside an enclosed space for an uncertain amount of time. "Okay then…" Blake said as he tried to shrug off the uncomfortable feeling and he cleared his throat slightly. "If I win, we get to go to an art gallery I had listed for possible viewing." He said as he maintained his confidence. "But if you show any type of emotion or smile, it will obviously be an automatic win for me."

Carl snorted and looked back at Hoodsey, who laughed a little under his breath, and looked at Blake as he crossed his arms. "You're on. This is going to be too easy, Hoods."

"Yeah." He agreed. "Like we would get caught up in a show with people dressed like cats running around a stage for two hours."

"We shall see." Blake said with a hearty chuckle himself as he took out the bundle of tickets from the inside of his ironed blazer and gave two of them to the pair. "It's a good thing we don't need to wait in line, I got us some of the best seats in the house!" He led them to the golden doors and presented his ticket to the man in the massive lobby.

* * *

After driving the remaining five hours of her trip for the day, Macie found herself at her stop for the night just beyond the Pennsylvania border. Sure there was still some daylight remaining where she could have made it to Kutztown by early evening, but the itinerary she made was intentional. It would be better to have the time to swallow her nerves and head to her final stop in the morning.

When she settled in for the night, Macie sat down on her bed with her laptop and typed out a quick reminder email to Dodie before checking her phone only to see Hoodsey never called or texted. He had to be there by now, this was a little strange so she called him only to get his voicemail instantly. She stared at her closed phone as her heart hammered so hard against her chest, she could hear it in her ears. He had to be safe. Just had to be but her mind almost instantly went to the worst possible reason as to why he hadn't called yet. The situation in her mind didn't settle since she had the TV on the news and the breaking news echoed through the room about an eight car pile-up just inside the south border of New York. She stared at the TV with widened eyes for a long minute.

"…Oh, sweet Mable…" She muttered to herself as she felt herself grow panicky. She knew when she panicked, her breathing could get erratic so she looked around her room and spotted her backpack on the chair across the room from her but her mind couldn't connect the need for her inhaler and she just stared at the phone in her hand, once more dialing his number.

"You have reached the voicemail box of _Robert Bishop_. Please leave a message after the tone."

Macie hitched her breath, "Hoodsey, I surely hope that you have either gone on an impromptu trip with Carl and Blake tonight… Or at least safe in bed because the trip there was so draining.. I-I just want to know you're safe at your destination, so! …So please, whenever you get this message, give me a call." She rushed through her words but she stopped to smile at the blanket she was sitting on. "Please be safe.. And I don't care if you call at three in the morning! Just-Just call me… Okay? And, well…" She tried to get her thoughts straight but it seemed like her mind was numbed by the massive worry. Her eyes darted around the room as she tried to put together a thought but was failing miserably. "I know we aren't there in our relationship yet.. If you can call it that right now, but I just need you to know that I… Well, it seems like I'm pretty much in love with you since I keep talking and I am not grabbing my inhaler when I am inching closer to desperately needing it at the moment!" She gasped a little as she had said all that with a shallow breath. "…Right.. Just call me ASAP." She closed her phone and dropped it on the bed before shakily getting up from the bed and rushing to the chair.


End file.
